Band 4.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-13

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

below shows the value of one country’s exports in various categories during 2015 and 2016. The table shows the percentage change in each category of exports in 2016 compared with 2015.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

Student answer (Band 4.0)

The following chart is showing the export earnings of 2015 to 2016. In those years some products value has increased but also some of them has decreased.

we can see that petroleum products are the most exported item. In 2015 it's value was $60\%$ but in 2016 it has increased $3\%$. Engineered goods were values were also increased almost $8$ and a half percentage in 2016 from 2015. On the other hand gems and jewellery items values was a little lower than the previous two. At the same time, in between 2015 to 2016 it's has value has dropped about

5.18%, which was a concerning matter. Agricultural products are were also increased 0.81%, which was quite a bit. Almost unnoticable. At the end Texties products. It has earned the most profit in 2015 to 2016. It's value had increased 15.29%.

After summarising the table we can say that Texties items were most profitable in that time. Petroleum products were expensive but still got a little value increase. Gems and jewellery were dropped a bit. And Enginered products and Agricultural goods were values increased quite a bit.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.0

The student attempts to address the task by reporting on several categories of export earnings mentioned in the prompt, such as petroleum, engineered goods, and textiles. However, the response falls short of fully presenting an overview or accurately selecting the main features due to confusion with the data units. Specifically, the student misinterprets the figures, stating that petroleum products had a value of '$60%' in 2015, which confuses absolute export values or shares with percentage changes. Furthermore, the writing abruptly cuts off near the end ("dropped about 5.18%, which was a concerning matter. Agricultural products are were also increased"), leaving ideas under-developed and failing to present a coherent summary of the visual data. This places the response in Band 4.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 4.0

The organisation of the text is hindered by very short, disjointed paragraphs and abrupt sentence fragments, such as "At the end Texties products. It has earned the most profit..." and the unfinished sentence ending with "dropped about 5.18%, which was a concerning matter." Paragraphing is attempted, but ideas do not flow logically due to poor mechanical cohesion and referencing errors (e.g., repeating "values was" and "were also increased"). Although there is some basic sequencing attempted with transition phrases like "On the other hand" and "After summarising", the overall progression is disrupted by grammatical breaks and sentence fragments. This aligns with a Band 4.0 for Coherence and Cohesion.

Lexical Resource — Band 4.0

The vocabulary used is basic and repetitive, with frequent lexical and collocation errors. The student attempts topic-related vocabulary like "export earnings", "petroleum products", and "agricultural products", but makes persistent errors in word formation and choice, such as "Texties" instead of textiles, "Enginered" instead of engineered, and repeatedly using "values" or "items values" awkwardly. Additionally, the phrase "unnoticable" is misspelled. The range is limited and frequently strains the reader's understanding, fitting the Band 4.0 descriptors where basic vocabulary and errors impede smooth reading.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 4.0

The response displays a very limited range of grammatical structures, relying mostly on simple sentences with frequent, severe errors. Examples include "products value has increased", "some of them has decreased", "it's value was $60%", and "Agricultural products are were also increased". There are numerous subject-verb agreement errors, tense inconsistencies, and punctuation lapses, including sentence fragments like "At the end Texties products." These errors are frequent and often distort the meaning, placing the grammatical performance firmly in Band 4.0.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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