Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-15
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 5.5)
The bar chart compares the number of export earnings across five different product sectors in the year of 2015 and 2016, while the table illustrates the proportion variation of every single category of exports in 2016 compared with 2015.
Overall, it is apparent that Petroleum products remained the most dominant item in both years. In contrast, Textiles in the initial year and Agricultural products along textiles in final year recorded the lowest earning. Notably, all products experienced a significant increase in 2016 except Gems and jewellery.
Looking at the data in detail, Petroleum products accounted for almost $70 billions in 2015 and the peak value of nearly $74 billions in 2016. Furthermore, Engineered goods noted at the same level of Petroleum products in 2016, meanwhile it represented $67 billion in 2015. Gems and Jewellery figures hovered around $50- $53 billion in both years. Moreover, in 2016 Agricultural products and Textiles constituted the lowest share of approximately $41 billions.
Reagarding the change in 2016, the highest share accounted for 15.24% by Textiles and Engineered goods at 8.5%. Petroleum products and Agricultural products grew slightly in 2016 and noted at 3% and 0.81%. Conversely, Agricultural products saw a relative decrease to 5.18% in the end of the period.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The student attempts to address both parts of the prompt, summarizing the export earnings chart and the percentage change table. However, there are significant data misinterpretations. For instance, the student states that Petroleum products accounted for 'almost $70 billions in 2015 and the peak value of nearly $74 billions in 2016', whereas the source chart shows values of around 61 and 63 billion. Similarly, the figures for other categories show noticeable inaccuracies against the ground-truth data. Furthermore, the final paragraph confuses Gems and jewellery with Agricultural products when discussing the 5.18% decrease. These severe data inaccuracies prevent the response from achieving a higher band score under Task Achievement.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response is organized into four paragraphs, following a standard introduction, overview, and body paragraph structure. Cohesive devices are employed to connect ideas, such as 'Overall', 'In contrast', and 'Furthermore'. However, referencing and logical progression are sometimes flawed, notably in the second paragraph where the student mentions 'Agricultural products along textiles in final year', which is confusingly phrased and lacks clear local cohesion. Paragraphing is adequate, but overall information flow is occasionally disrupted by confusing data relationships.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student attempts a range of vocabulary appropriate to Task 1, including terms like 'dominant', 'proportion variation', 'constituted', and 'hovered around'. However, there are noticeable word-choice errors and awkward collocations, such as 'proportion variation' instead of 'percentage change' or 'proportionate variation', and 'noted at the same level' instead of 'stood at the same level'. Additionally, there are repetitive vocabulary patterns and minor typos like 'Reagarding'. The lexical range is adequate for the task but lacks precision.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The essay displays a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as introductory subordinate clauses ('while the table illustrates...'). However, grammatical errors are frequent and sometimes impede clarity. Examples include 'number of export earnings' (earnings are not countable with 'number'), 'recorded the lowest earning' (singular/plural mismatch), and 'Engineered goods noted at the same level' (passive/active confusion). Punctuation is generally acceptable, but grammatical slips recur throughout the text.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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