Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-01
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)
This bart chart describe export earnings of one country in five categories in 2015 and 2016.This table shows percentage change between these years.
Overall,Petroleum and Engineered goods earned the most money.Textiles earned the least money.Most products increase in 2016.
In 2015, Petroleum product was the highest at about $62 billion and it increased to about $65 billion in 2016 with 3% increase.Engineered goods was about $58 billion in 2015 and it went up to about $63 billion in 2016. This was 8.5% increase
Gems and Jewellery was about $50 billion in both years bit it decresed by 5.18%. Agricultural products was about $38 billion in 2015 and $39 billion in 2016 with small increase pf 0.81%.Textiles was the lowest at about $31 billion in 2015 and it increase toabout $37 billion in 2016. It had the biggest increase of 15.24%.
In conclusion, Most exports increased in 2016 except Gems and Jewellery.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The response addresses the task by summarising the main features of the chart and table, and includes some comparisons. However, the data points selected are occasionally inaccurate compared to the visual source, such as stating petroleum products were at about $62 billion in 2015 when the actual figure was around $61 billion, and misinterpreting the values for Gems and Jewellery and Agricultural products. While an overview is provided stating that most products increased in 2016, the overall reporting is limited and under-developed in places. To reach a higher band, the student should ensure greater accuracy when reading and reporting data from the visual source, and provide a more fully developed selection of key trends and comparisons.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The text is arranged with some overall organisation, divided into introductory, body, and concluding paragraphs, showing an attempt at logical sequencing. However, the progression is sometimes hampered by mechanical referencing and a lack of smooth transitions between sentences and paragraphs. Cohesive devices are used in a basic manner, such as 'In 2015' and 'In conclusion', but referencing pronouns and logical links between data points are occasionally unclear. To improve, the student should employ a wider and more flexible range of cohesive devices and ensure that ideas flow naturally from one sentence to the next without abrupt shifts.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The student uses an adequate vocabulary range for the task, successfully incorporating terms related to economic data such as 'export earnings', 'categories', 'percentage change', and 'increase'. However, there are noticeable lexical errors, including spelling mistakes like 'bart' instead of 'bar', 'bit' instead of 'but', 'decresed', and 'pf' instead of 'of'. Word choices are sometimes repetitive, relying heavily on simple verbs like 'earned', 'increased', and 'went up'. To achieve a higher score, the student needs to use less common vocabulary with greater precision, eliminate spelling errors, and demonstrate better control over word choice and collocation.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The response displays a mix of simple and some complex sentence forms, though the range of grammatical structures remains rather limited. There are several noticeable errors in grammar and punctuation, such as subject-verb agreement issues like 'Most products increase' instead of 'increased', missing articles ('This bart chart describe'), and punctuation errors like missing spaces after periods. While these errors rarely impede overall communication, they occur with enough frequency to keep the score at this level. To progress, the student should incorporate a wider variety of complex sentence structures and exercise better control over verb tenses, subject-verb agreement, and basic punctuation.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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