Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

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

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 bar chart compares the exports of a country across a number of product categories including pertroleum, textiles, agricultural, Gems and Jewellery and Engineered goods for the period of two years, 2015 and 2016.

Overall it is evident form the bar chart that Petroleum products were the leading export items of the country for both 2015 and 2016 with 3% increase from 2015 to 2016 followed by the engineered goods occupying the second spot with Textiles being the least exported item of the country. All categories saw an incresae in the export value from 2015 to 2016 except Gem and Jewllery that recorded a drop down.

Petroleum products toped the chart with almost $60billion export value for 2015 which incresaed 3% and reached upto $60.5 billions. Engineered goods were the second best export category with $50.8 billions for 2015 and saw the sharp incresae of whooping 8.5% for 2016.

Gems and Jewllery was the only product class that dispalyed a 5.18% decline in export value while Textiles saw the highest incresae of 15.24% reaching upto $41 billions in 2016 from $35 billions in 2015. Contrary to all, the export of Agricultural products almost reamained constant for both mentioned years.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the main categories and provide an overview, noting that petroleum led exports and that gems and jewellery declined while the other categories rose or stayed nearly stable. However, several figures conflict with the chart: petroleum is about $61 billion in 2015 and $63 billion in 2016, not $60 billion and $60.5 billion; engineered goods are about $57 billion, not $50.8 billion; and textiles reach about $31 billion, not $41 billion. The claim that textiles were the least exported category is also inaccurate for 2015, when they were lowest, but agricultural products and textiles were level in 2016. More accurate reporting of the values and clearer coverage of the overall comparisons would make the summary more complete and reliable.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable four-part structure: an introduction, an overview, and two paragraphs of detail. Its progression from the leading categories to the remaining products is generally easy to follow, and linking phrases such as “Overall,” “while,” and “Contrary to all” help connect points. However, the final phrase “Contrary to all” is an unclear transition, and some details are grouped without a consistent comparison across both years. For example, the textiles figure is presented alongside the gems decline, while agricultural products are mentioned only briefly at the end. Organise the details more systematically—such as comparing the highest categories first, then the lower ones—and use precise referencing to strengthen the flow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant task vocabulary, including “export value,” “category,” “decline,” and “remained constant,” and you attempt some less common expressions such as “occupying the second spot.” However, spelling errors are frequent and sometimes distract the reader: “pertroleum,” “incresae,” “Jewllery,” “toped,” and “dispalyed.” Some choices are also informal or imprecise for an academic report, including “whooping,” “toped the chart,” and “drop down.” Prefer neutral reporting language such as “rose,” “recorded,” and “fell.” Check the spelling of category names carefully, and use standard forms such as “gems and jewellery” consistently. These changes would make your vocabulary more accurate and appropriately formal.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You use both simple and complex sentence forms, including a relative clause in “the only product class that displayed a 5.18% decline” and contrast with “while.” Most of the meaning remains understandable, but some grammatical patterns are inaccurate. For example, “for the period of two years” is awkwardly formed, and “reached upto $60.5 billions” has problems with the verb pattern and plural form. In “with 3% increase,” an article is missing, while “the sharp increase of whooping 8.5%” does not form a clear grammatical construction. Review articles, singular and plural forms, and how to express changes (for example, “rose by 3% to…”). More consistently controlled sentence patterns would improve accuracy.

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