Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-09-29

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 figure is of a bar graph that helps to analyze the export of variety of products in different category of a country. There are several colors used in this graph to represent various data like year, earning and product category.

On the Y-axis earnings is indicated by "$ in billions" whereas on the X-axis several categories of products are listed that are being exported. Petroleum and Engine goods are two of the highly dominating product category in terms of export for this country, and also seems to be increasing within the given fiscal year. Beside these categories, Gems, Farming and Marble related items are also some of the major export which seems to stand at an average position with a very slight fluctuation through a year.

To summarize, Petroleum is the leading export source which has benefited with more than $6 billion while Textiles is the least export product.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

The student attempts to summarise the visual data by identifying key export categories such as petroleum and engineered goods. However, the response fails to report specific data accurately and introduces incorrect information, such as stating that petroleum earnings benefited by 'more than $6 billion' (the actual 2015 value was around 61 billion and rose to 63 billion, and the percentage change was 3%, not 6 billion) and misrepresenting categories ('Engine goods', 'Marble related items'). Furthermore, the overview is weak, and the response lacks key comparisons between the years 2015 and 2016. Because the key features are not accurately reported and the data is misread or vague, this falls under Band 5.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response is divided into three short paragraphs, which gives it a basic structure. However, there is no clear overall progression of information. Cohesive devices are used awkwardly or inaccurately, such as 'Beside these categories, Gems, Farming and Marble related items are also some of the major export which seems to stand at an average position with a very slight fluctuation through a year.' Referencing is sometimes unclear, and paragraphing is underdeveloped, resulting in a somewhat disjointed flow. This aligns well with the Band 5 descriptors for Coherence and Cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The student demonstrates a limited vocabulary with noticeable inaccuracies and inappropriate word choices. For example, terms like 'Engine goods' (instead of engineered goods) and 'Farming' (instead of agricultural products) show a lack of precision. Collocations and word forms are sometimes awkward, as seen in 'export of variety of products in different category'. While the vocabulary is adequate to convey a basic meaning, errors in word choice and terminology restrict the score to Band 5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The student uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but attempts at complex structures often contain errors. Examples include 'The given figure is of a bar graph that helps to analyze...' and agreement issues like '...export of variety of products in different category' and '...major export which seems to stand'. Punctuation is mostly basic, and grammatical errors (such as missing plural forms or incorrect prepositions) are frequent, though they do not entirely impede communication. This corresponds to a Band 5 performance.

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

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