Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-20

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 5.0)

The given data provides the values of a country exports and bar graph compares the percentage of export in five different categories in two different years 2015 and 2016.

Overall, in 2016 all these categories showed a great incline in which textile was on rank one followed by engineered goods, petroleum products and agriculture products except gems and jewellery whose percentage went down.

Export earnings of petroleum products and engineered goods were about 70 and 60 billion in 2015 which showed increase in 2016 and values of these categories increase by 3% and 8.5% respectively. While values of gems and jewellery plummeted about 5.18% in 2016 which had a percentage of 50 billion in 2015.

Textile industry showed a huge development and its values went to raise about 15.24 % as compare to 2015 when its percentage was 30 billions. Agriculture products percentage also went up which was about 40 billion in 2015 and their value reached to 0.18% in 2016.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The student covers most parts of the task, including an overview and data points from both the bar chart and the table. However, there are significant data inaccuracies that prevent a higher band score. For example, the student states that petroleum products and engineered goods were 'about 70 and 60 billion in 2015', whereas the visual data shows them closer to 61 and 57. More critically, the final sentence contains major inaccuracies, claiming that agricultural products reached '0.18% in 2016' (misreading the 0.81% percentage change table). Despite these errors, the overall trends are identified, and the main features are highlighted, placing the response solidly in the band 5.0 to 5.5 range.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response is structured into an introduction, an overview paragraph, and body paragraphs, showing an attempt at logical organization. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Overall', 'While', and 'as compared to'. However, paragraphing is somewhat weak, with the overview and body elements slightly conflated, and referencing is occasionally unclear (e.g., confusing absolute values with percentages). The progression of ideas lacks total clarity due to awkward phrasing and grammatical slips, but the overall message is still discernible, aligning with band 5.5.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The student attempts some less common vocabulary, such as 'plummeted', 'development', and 'incline', but many words are used with inaccurate collocations or in the wrong contexts. For instance, 'great incline' and 'values of these categories increase by 3%' show basic control. Furthermore, the student repeatedly confuses absolute financial values ('billion') with percentages. Spelling is generally acceptable, but lexical control is limited, fitting the band 5.0 descriptor.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but control is inconsistent. There are frequent grammatical errors, such as missing articles ('a country exports', 'textile was on rank one'), incorrect preposition use, and tense inconsistencies. For example, 'values of these categories increase' uses the present tense instead of the past tense. Punctuation is basic, and some complex structures are faulty or awkward. However, communication is not completely impeded, earning a band 5.0.

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

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