Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-08

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 given bar chart compares the amount of money of a state in two years 2015 and 2016 for exporting different products in billion dollars.

Overall, the textile industry in both years made the lowest exports around 35 billion dollars in 2015 and above 40 billion dollars in 2016. However, the business of petroleum and engineering products reached at peak in both years.

Starting with petroleum industry and engineering goods, both the categories made a significant export around 72 billion dollars in 2016 however, they marked 70 billion dollars value in 2015 for petroleum and 68 billion dollar for engineering. On the other side, a small amount of textile products were sent outside the country around 35 billion dollars in 2015 and over 40 in 2016. Moreover, the agriculutre industry experienced similar amount of money for exporting that is around 40 billion dollars in both years. The business of gems and jewellery earned around 53 billion dollars in 2015 and reduced to 50 billion dollars in 2016.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0

The response identifies the chart’s subject and attempts an overview, but its account of the data is substantially inaccurate, which limits how well it fulfils the task. For example, it says textiles were about $35 billion in 2015 and above $40 billion in 2016, whereas the chart shows approximately $26 billion and $31 billion. It also places petroleum and engineered goods near $70 billion, although their values are around $61–63 billion and $57–62 billion. The overview that textiles were the lowest category is sound, but the claim that petroleum and engineering reached a peak is vague and does not capture the overall pattern accurately. Check each figure against the chart and summarise the main increases, decrease, and broadly stable category.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and a paragraph comparing categories. Its progression from petroleum and engineered goods to textiles, agriculture, and gems is generally easy to follow. Linking expressions such as “Overall,” “Starting with,” and “On the other side” help signal movement between points, although the last phrase is not the most natural contrast marker here. The overview and detail paragraph also repeat the textile comparison, and the categories could be grouped more purposefully—for example, rising exports together, then the decline and near-stability. Clearer grouping and less repetition would make the organisation more effective, while the current arrangement remains coherent overall.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate to describe the chart, with relevant terms such as “exports,” “petroleum,” “engineering goods,” and “gems and jewellery.” There are also attempts at more varied phrasing, including “experienced similar amount” and “reached at peak,” but some combinations are inaccurate or unnatural. “The amount of money of a state” is an unclear way to introduce export values, while “sent outside the country” is less precise than “exported.” The spelling “agriculutre” is also an error. These choices do not prevent the reader from understanding the general topic, but more precise chart language and natural collocations would improve clarity and control.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple statements and longer sentences, including a contrast with “However” and a sentence beginning “Starting with…”. Most of the message remains understandable, which is consistent with some grammatical errors that rarely obstruct meaning. There are, however, errors in sentence patterns and agreement: “the business of petroleum and engineering products reached at peak” needs a more accurate construction, and “both the categories made” has an unnecessary article and awkward agreement. In “the agriculture industry experienced similar amount,” the noun phrase also needs an article. Review article use, agreement, and verb patterns, while continuing to use varied sentence forms.

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