Band 4.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-07

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 table compares the percentage change in each category of Exports Earnings in 2016 vis-a-vis with 2015. While the ratio of change in value illustrates the one country's exports in various categories during the period of 2015 and 2016.

Overall, it can be seen that the Exoprt Earning between both the year the Petroleum products which was the most popluar item. Whereas, the lowest popular ratio of values Agriculture products.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 3.0

The response makes a limited attempt to describe the visual, identifying petroleum products as the leading category and agricultural products as the lowest. However, the overview is unclear and partly inaccurate: agriculture was not the lowest in 2016, as gems and jewellery earned less, while agriculture and textiles were both about $31 billion. The response also confuses the table’s percentage changes with the chart’s export values and gives no supporting figures or meaningful comparisons. It does not report the main trends, including the rise in most categories and the fall in gems and jewellery. At 62 words, it is 88 words below the required minimum; the eight words copied from the prompt are excluded. Include a clear overview and select key figures and changes.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.0

There is a basic attempt to organise the response into an opening statement and an overview, and the linking words “While” and “Overall” show an effort to guide the reader. However, the ideas do not progress clearly: the first sentence introduces the table, while the next sentence beginning “While” is incomplete and does not connect logically to it. The overview then gives two brief claims without explaining or comparing them. The contrast marker “Whereas” also introduces a fragment rather than a complete sentence. Use a clear sequence—paraphrase, overview, then selected comparisons—and connect complete ideas with accurate referencing and linking.

Lexical Resource: Band 4.5

The response uses some task-related vocabulary, including “percentage change,” “exports,” “categories,” and “Petroleum products,” so the topic is generally recognisable. However, word choice and collocation are often inaccurate or awkward: “the most popular item” describes popularity rather than export value, and “lowest popular ratio of values” does not clearly express the smallest earnings. “Vis-a-vis with” is also an unsuitable combination here, while “Exoprt Earning” contains spelling and form errors. These choices make the limited information harder to interpret. Prefer precise chart language such as “highest export value,” “lowest-earning category,” and “increased by,” and check spelling and singular/plural forms.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

The response attempts more than one sentence pattern, but control is inconsistent. The sentence beginning “While the ratio of change…” is a dependent clause without a main clause, and “Whereas the lowest popular ratio…” is also incomplete. In “between both the year,” the number and article pattern are faulty, and “which was the most popular item” does not clearly attach to the intended subject. These errors make relationships between ideas difficult to follow. Build complete sentences with a clear subject and verb, for example, “Petroleum products had the highest export value in both years.” Then check agreement, articles, and sentence boundaries before submitting.

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.