Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-02
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 information provided shows the percentage change in values of the five given exports between [redacted phone]. Based on the bar graph the trend appears to be uneven across the export categories.
Notably, the exports of the petroleum products have increased by 3% in 2016 as compared to in 2015. A similar upward trend is noticed for engineered goods as well which has increased by 8.5% from 2015 to 2016. It is the agricultural products and textiles as well which has increased their value of exports by 0.81 % and 15.24%, respectively. Nevertheless, there remains Gems and Jewellery which face a decline in the exports of 5.18% within a year, which appears shocking.
Most importantly, the upward trend has been noticed across 4 out of 5 export categories, but that the increase is not universal, rather there great variation within the increase percentages of the export within a year. Hence, it highlights that there is no as such association between these categories, which did at first appeared while viewing the the trends.
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 main features of the visual data by outlining the percentage changes and values across the categories, but it only partially covers the prompt's requirements. While it mentions the trends for petroleum products, engineered goods, agricultural products, textiles, and gems and jewellery, some of the descriptions are underdeveloped or focus on subjective commentary rather than objective reporting. For instance, describing a 5.18% decline in gems and jewellery as 'shocking' goes beyond neutral reporting of data. The overview attempts to capture the main picture, but it lacks a clear synthesis of the overall pattern between 2015 and 2016. To reach a higher level, the response needs to ensure all data points are integrated more smoothly and comparisons between categories are handled with greater precision and objectivity.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The response displays some overall organisation with paragraphs separating the introduction, body details, and concluding thoughts, but there is no clear progression throughout the piece. Cohesive devices are sometimes used mechanically or repetitively, such as 'Notably' and 'Most importantly,' which interrupts the natural flow of ideas. Additionally, referencing is occasionally unclear, as seen in phrases like 'there remains Gems and Jewellery which face a decline,' where the link between clauses feels disjointed. Paragraphing is present, but internal cohesion requires better transitional phrases and logical sequencing to guide the reader seamlessly from one observation to the next.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, attempting some less common phrases like 'percentage change,' 'upward trend,' and 'decline in the exports.' However, there are noticeable inaccuracies in word choice and phrasing, such as 'face a decline in the exports,' 'increase percentages,' and 'no as such association.' These minor lexical errors and awkward collocations do not heavily impede communication, but they restrict the response from achieving a higher band. Incorporating a wider variety of precise reporting verbs and adjectives without awkward phrasing would significantly strengthen this criterion.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some control over structure. However, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with subject-verb agreement and prepositions, such as 'it is the agricultural products and textiles as well which has increased,' 'did at first appeared,' and 'viewing the the trends.' Punctuation and article usage also show inconsistencies. These frequent errors occasionally cause minor difficulty for the reader. To improve, the writer needs to ensure better accuracy in complex verb patterns and eliminate recurring slip-ups in basic grammatical agreements.
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