Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

The bar chart illustrates the export earnings of a country in five different categories during 2015 and 2016. The table provides the change in each category of exports in 2016 compared to 2015.

Overall, export earnings increased for each categories in 2016 compared with 2015.Furthermore, the most proportion change was for textiles while agriculture products accounted for least change.

In 2015 the country earned about 70 billion by exporting petroleum products which slightly increased at 3% in 2016. In terms of engineered goods the earning was about more than 60 billion in 2015. It increased significantly at 8.5% and reached at more than 70 billion in 2016.

Gems and jewellery products experienced decrease from 2015 to 2016.

However, regarding agriculture products the figure was almost same for both year with a change at only 0.81%. Textiles showed the most significant increase from 2015 to 2016. It started with more than 20 billion and reached at more than 30 billion in 2016.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify the chart and table and give a relevant overview, noting textiles as the largest percentage change and agricultural products as the smallest. However, the overview says earnings increased in every category, which is inaccurate: gems and jewellery fell, while agriculture was essentially unchanged. Several figures are also substantially misreported. Petroleum earnings were about $61 billion in 2015 and $63 billion in 2016, not about $70 billion; engineered goods rose from about $57 billion to $62 billion, not above $70 billion. The textiles description is broadly accurate, but the account of gems lacks figures. Select the main comparisons and report the chart values more carefully, distinguishing percentage changes from earnings.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview and a body that moves through the categories. This gives the reader some organisation, and phrases such as “In terms of” and “However” attempt to connect information. Nevertheless, progression is uneven: the paragraph moves from petroleum to engineered goods, then gives gems a single brief sentence before returning to agriculture and textiles. The contrast signalled by “Overall” is also undermined by the inaccurate claim that every category increased. Some linking is mechanical or imprecise, and spacing and punctuation around sentence boundaries are inconsistent. Grouping categories by trend—rising, falling or nearly stable—and using clearer transitions would make the comparisons easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant task vocabulary, including “export earnings,” “categories,” “increased,” “decrease” and “significant increase,” so the topic is generally clear. There is also some attempt to vary wording, for example “experienced decrease” and “accounted for least change.” However, several expressions are awkward or imprecise, such as “the most proportion change,” “increased at 3%,” and “reached at more than 30 billion.” “Agriculture products” is less suitable than the standard category name “agricultural products.” Repetition of “increased” and “change” also limits flexibility. Aim for accurate collocations such as “rose by 3%,” “recorded the largest percentage increase,” and “remained almost unchanged”; these will make the data descriptions more natural and precise.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You use both simple sentences and some longer structures, including the overview sentence beginning “Overall” and the comparison introduced by “while.” Meaning is usually recoverable, but errors are frequent enough to make the writing less controlled. Examples include “for each categories” (number agreement), “the earning was” (number agreement), “reached at” (verb pattern), and “both year” (plural form). The sentence “It increased significantly at 8.5% and reached at more than 70 billion” also combines faulty grammatical patterns. Punctuation and spacing are inconsistent, notably the missing space after the full stop in “2015.Furthermore.” Practise accurate comparative sentence patterns, such as “earnings rose from X to Y,” and check agreement, articles and sentence boundaries.

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