Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-03

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 6.5)

The bar chart compare a country's export earning across five categories between 2015 and 2016, measured in billion of dollars, alongside the percentage change for each sector.

Overall, export earnings increases for the majority of the categories over the two-year periods, with petroleum products and engineered goods dominating the export market. Conversely, gems and jewellery was the only category that experienced a decline in revenue.

In details, petroleum products remained the leading export, rising slightly by 3% from around $61 billion to $63 billion. Similarly, earning from engineered goods experienced a subtantial 8.5% increase, climbing from $57 billion to $62 billion by 2016.

Conversely, gems and jewellery revenues fell by 5.18% dropping from $43 billion to $41 billion. Agricultural products remained relatively stable with a marginal 0.81% increase to roughly $32 billion. Notably, textile recorded the highest growth rate at 15.24%, surging from $25 billion to level with agricultural products at $ 32 billion.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

The response successfully covers all parts of the task by addressing both the visual charts and the table, providing a clear overview of the main trends. Key features are highlighted effectively, such as identifying petroleum products and engineered goods as dominant and noting gems and jewellery as the only declining sector. Supporting data from the charts and table is generally well-reported, though there is a minor discrepancy in reading specific figures, such as estimating textile values at $32 billion rather than the gridline's indication. Ideas are extended and supported well throughout, demonstrating a strong command of the requirements for this band while showing elements of the higher level through a clear, overall summary.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The writing exhibits a clear logical organisation and progression throughout, moving smoothly from the introduction to the overview, and then into detailed body paragraphs categorising the data. Cohesive devices such as 'Conversely', 'Similarly', and 'Notably' are used appropriately to link ideas, although some transitions feel slightly mechanical. Paragraphing is used sufficiently and effectively, dividing the analysis into logical thematic blocks. To achieve a fully higher band, the referencing and transitional links could be integrated with greater subtlety and fluidity, ensuring seamless progression between every sentence.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

The student uses an adequate and sufficiently flexible range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating less common lexical items such as 'dominating', 'marginal', and 'surging'. There are some successful collocation attempts, alongside a few lexical inaccuracies or typos, such as 'subtantial' instead of 'substantive' or 'substantial', and minor awkwardness like 'earning' instead of 'earnings'. However, these vocabulary and spelling errors do not impede communication. The range is robust enough to convey precise comparisons, reflecting solid control while leaving room for greater precision and naturalness in word choice.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The response displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, with attempts at varied structures including subordinate clauses and comparative constructions. There are some grammar and punctuation errors present, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('The bar chart compare') and minor prepositional or article slips ('in details', 'textile recorded' instead of 'textiles recorded'). These errors do not impede communication, and there are frequent error-free sentences demonstrating decent control. To reach higher bands, the student needs to eliminate basic agreement and pluralisation mistakes and demonstrate a wider, more consistently accurate range of complex grammatical structures.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.