Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · 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 4.5)

The graph below illustrates the value of a country's export in diffrent sections from 2015 to 2016. It also shows the percentatge change in each category of exports i 2016 compared with 2015.

Overall, petroleum had the highest percentage changes in 2016 with 68 pecentatge and was quite low in 2015 while Engineering Goods came out high in 2016 and was low in 2015.

However, in 2015, Germs was 50 percent but was reduced in 2016 with 48 percent,

Furthermore, in 2015 and 2026, Agricultural was of the same percentage.

Textile was 40 percent in 2016 and was 35 percent in 2015.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.0

The student attempts to summarise the visual data by mentioning exports across different categories for the years 2015 and 2016. However, the response suffers from significant inaccuracies regarding the data. For instance, the student states that petroleum had '68 pecentatge' (referring to the percentage change), which misinterprets the chart's figures (petroleum exports were around 61 to 63 billion, with a 3% change). Furthermore, the text is severely under-length, containing only 102 words compared to the required minimum of 150 words. Because the task is substantially under-length and contains major data misinterpretations, the response only partially addresses the prompt.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 4.5

The response is structured into short paragraphs, attempting an introductory sentence and some body sentences with transitional markers such as 'Overall,' and 'However,'. However, the logical progression is weak due to fragmented sentences and confusion between absolute export values and percentage changes. For example, sentences like 'Furthermore, in 2015 and 2026, Agricultural was of the same percentage' (with a typographical year error) lack clear referencing and connection to the data. Paragraphing is disjointed, and overall cohesion is mechanical and inadequate, resulting in a low band score for this criterion.

Lexical Resource — Band 4.5

The lexical range is quite limited and repetitive. The student uses basic vocabulary such as 'high', 'low', and 'percentage', alongside frequent spelling and word-form errors, including 'diffrent' instead of different, 'percentatge', 'pecentatge', and 'Germs' instead of Gems. Less common vocabulary items are attempted incorrectly or confused, which impedes clear communication. While the topic is related to export categories, the precision required for Task 1 reporting is missing due to the poor control over vocabulary and spelling.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 4.5

The grammatical structures used are simple, with basic attempts at complex sentences that are often faulty or awkward in phrasing. There are frequent errors in tense consistency, prepositions, and agreement, such as 'petroleum had the highest percentage changes... and was quite low in 2015' and 'Agricultural was of the same percentage.' Punctuation and capitalization also show carelessness. The range of structures is very limited, and grammatical errors cause frequent difficulty for the reader, aligning with the descriptors for a band 4.5 or 5.0.

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

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