Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-06
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 graph shows exports earning of a country comparison during 2015 and 2016. Below the table shows the change in percentage in different exports product categories in 2016 compared to 2015.
Overall, Among the various categories,Petroleum products showed the highest level of earnings through export. While, textiles had the lowest value of earnings. In terms of percentage changes, Textiles had highest increasing percentage and agricultural products shown the lowest increasing percentage.
In graph, petroleum remains at its highest value in terms of export earning both in 2015 and 2016. Textiles has been shown the lowest export earnings but increased in 2016. Engineering goods and Jewellery experienced a decrease in the export earnings from 2015 to 2016.
According to the table, gems and jewellery were the only category to experience a decline, falling by 5.18%. The export value of textiles increased by 8.5%. Petroleum products showed increase the export earning at 3%, engineered goods and agricultural products showed 3% and 0.81% respectively.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0
You identify several important features, including petroleum products as the largest export category and textiles as the smallest in 2015, and you note that gems and jewellery declined. However, the account is only partly accurate and does not consistently report the chart and table together. The overview incorrectly says agricultural products had the smallest percentage increase: textiles had the largest increase (15.24%), while agricultural products rose only 0.81%. You also state that textiles increased by 8.5%, which is the figure for engineered goods, and say engineered goods fell even though they rose. To improve, check each category against both visuals and give a clear overview of the main changes before supporting it with accurate comparisons.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and paragraphs describing the graph and table. This helps the reader identify the topic and some key comparisons. However, progression is weakened by repetition: the overview and the graph paragraph both say petroleum was highest and textiles lowest. The transition “According to the table” is useful, but the information that follows includes figures already confused with other categories, making the comparison difficult to follow. Some linking is also awkward, as in “While, textiles…” and “In graph.” Organise the body by grouping the main increases and the one decline, and use clear references to distinguish chart values from percentage changes.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
You use relevant task vocabulary such as “export earnings,” “percentage changes,” “category,” “increased,” and “decline,” so the subject is generally clear. However, the range is limited and several word combinations or forms are unnatural, including “exports earning,” “change in percentage,” and “highest increasing percentage.” Repetition of “export earnings” also makes the description less precise. Choose standard collocations such as “export revenue,” “percentage change,” and “the largest increase.” Take care to use category names consistently: “engineered goods” and “gems and jewellery” should not be replaced by vague or inconsistent labels. More precise vocabulary would make the comparisons easier to understand.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
You attempt both simple statements and more complex structures, for example, “According to the table, gems and jewellery were the only category to experience a decline.” However, errors are frequent and sometimes make relationships between ideas unclear. Examples include the incomplete construction “While, textiles had…,” the missing article in “In graph,” and the faulty phrase “Petroleum products showed increase the export earning.” There are also problems with punctuation and sentence boundaries, such as the capitalised “Among” after a comma and missing spaces after commas. Practise forming complete sentences with accurate subject–verb patterns, articles, and verb forms. A few well-controlled complex sentences would be more effective than several faulty constructions.
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