Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-05

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 6.0)

The bar chart below illustrates export earnings of a country through different products between the year 2015 & 2016. The table compares the percentage change in values of each category during the same years.

Overall, petroleum products have been the major contributor to one country's export earnings for both years. Moreover, textiles had a highest positive percentage change in export earning values.

For year 2015, petroluem products are major contributors with export earnings of almost 60 billion dollars, followed by textiles with minimal value of export earnings, which is more than 20 billion dollars. Engineered goods, germs & jewellary, and agricultural products are standing between these two, with export earnings of below 60 billion dollars, more than 40 billion dollars, and just over 30 billion dollars.

Petroluem products just crossed 60 billion dollars in year 2016, with textiles had drastic increase to just over 30 billion dollars, in percentage change these are 3% and 15.24% respectively. Engineered goods and agricultural products also slightly increased to almost 60 billion dollars and to just over 30 billion dollars, with percantage changes are . Unlike these all, gems & jewellary faced 5.18% of decline in exports, which in numbers is approximately more than 2 billion dollars.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the task by reporting the main features of both the bar chart and the table, but some areas are developed more fully than others. You successfully provided an overview identifying petroleum products as the major contributor and textiles as having the highest positive percentage change. However, your reporting of the specific data in the body paragraphs contains some under-developed or imprecise descriptions, such as stating that textiles had a 'minimal value of export earnings' when they were actually the second lowest in 2015, and ending an incomplete sentence abruptly when discussing agricultural products ('with percantage changes are .'). To move to a higher level, you should ensure all key data points are accurately and fully reported without abrupt cuts, and provide a clearer, more comprehensive selection of comparisons across the categories.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response shows a coherent overall arrangement with a clear attempt to structure the essay into an introduction, an overview, and separate body paragraphs for 2015 and 2016 data. This meets the requirements of the lower band fully while exhibiting features of higher levels through paragraphing. However, cohesion is sometimes faulty or mechanical. For instance, transitional phrases between sentences can feel abrupt, and referencing is occasionally unclear, such as the dangling phrase at the end of the fourth paragraph regarding percentage changes. To achieve higher marks, you should use a wider and more flexible range of cohesive devices to smoothly connect sentences and ensure logical progression throughout every paragraph.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, allowing you to discuss economic data and trends such as 'export earnings', 'percentage change', and 'decline'. You make some successful attempts at less common vocabulary like 'major contributor' and 'drastic increase'. However, there are noticeable lexical errors, including spelling mistakes ('petroluem', 'germs & jewellary', 'percantage'), awkward word choices ('standing between these two'), and word form errors. These errors do not seriously impede communication, which places your vocabulary control at this level. To reach a higher band, you need to expand your range of less common lexical items, improve your precision in word choice and collocation, and eliminate basic spelling mistakes.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence forms throughout the response, attempting structures like subordinate clauses and comparative statements. There are some errors in grammar and punctuation, such as article omissions ('For year 2015'), preposition misuse ('in export earnings' vs 'of export earnings'), subject-verb agreement issues ('textiles had a highest'), and an incomplete clause near the end of the text. Fortunately, these errors rarely impede communication and the meaning remains clear. To progress to a higher band, you must increase the proportion of error-free sentences, exercise better control over complex grammatical structures, and carefully proofread your work to avoid unfinished sentences and missing articles.

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

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