Band 4.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 4.0 · 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 4.0)
The bar chart illustrates the number of one's country export in multiple categories during 2015 and 2016.
The table compares the precentage change in each category of export in 2016 and 2015.
Overall, it is clear that petroleum products had the highest figure, while textile recorded the lowest numbers.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 3.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 4.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 4.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 4.5 |
| Overall | 4.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 3.0
The response falls significantly short of the minimum length requirement of 150 words, stopping at only 49 words. Consequently, the task is addressed only minimally. While the introduction attempts to outline what the charts show, and the brief overview correctly identifies petroleum products and textiles at opposite ends of the scale, the response fails to provide the detailed summary, specific data points, and relevant comparisons required by the prompt. To improve, the writer must develop a much more comprehensive report that covers all major categories and provides comparative figures for both years.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5
The text is structured with a basic introduction and a short overview paragraph, which provides a rudimentary logical division. However, the extreme brevity of the response limits any extended development of cohesion or paragraphing. Transition markers are absent, and the progression of ideas is very limited. To achieve higher bands, the writer needs to group related data logically across multiple well-developed paragraphs, utilizing a wider range of cohesive devices to smoothly link ideas and highlight trends across the categories.
Lexical Resource: Band 4.5
The vocabulary used is basic and repetitive, featuring straightforward terms such as 'illustrates', 'export', 'categories', and 'highest figure'. There is a spelling error with the word 'precentage', and the collocation 'number of one's country export' is unnatural. The lexical range is minimally adequate to convey simple ideas, but lacks the precision, flexibility, and less common vocabulary required to discuss numerical data effectively. Incorporating more precise reporting verbs and vocabulary related to statistical trends would elevate the lexical score.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5
The response consists of two simple sentences and one compound sentence, demonstrating a very limited range of grammatical structures. There are minor structural awkwardness issues, such as 'the number of one's country export', which should refer to export earnings or values rather than a count. Punctuation is generally correct, and basic sentence construction is clear, but the lack of complex sentence forms prevents higher-level assessment. To progress, the writer needs to incorporate a wider variety of complex structures with good control over tense and agreement.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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