Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · 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 4.5)

The bar graph illustrates the cost of a country export in petroleum products, engineered goods,gems and jwellery, agricultural products and textiles.While, the table provides the information about the proportional changes of each category between 2015 and 2016.

Overall, it can be seen that the international trade is petroleum and engineered goods which are highest in numbers among all categories.Whereas, the textiles were exported less in both years. The proportion changes in values shows that

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 3.5

The response identifies the chart and table and gives a relevant broad comparison: petroleum and engineered goods are described as the largest categories, while textiles are said to be lower. However, the overview is incomplete and partly inaccurate: textiles were not the lowest in both years, since agricultural products were slightly lower in 2015, and the sentence about percentage changes is left unfinished. No specific figures or meaningful year-to-year changes are reported, so the main features are only minimally covered. The response also falls well short of the required 150 words, leaving most of the data unreported. To improve, complete the overview and compare key values and trends, including the strong rise in textiles and the decline in gems and jewellery.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

There is a basic attempt to organise the response into an introduction and an overview, and the opening sentence distinguishes the bar chart from the table. This gives the reader a starting point. However, the progression stops abruptly: the final clause, “The proportion changes in values shows that”, is unfinished, and there is no body paragraph to develop the comparisons. “While” is also used to begin a fragment rather than connect a complete contrast. Use separate, complete paragraphs for the overview and the main data, and link comparisons with clear references such as “by contrast” or “in 2016”. Completing each sentence would make the limited information easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The response uses some relevant task vocabulary, including “bar graph”, “table”, “categories”, “proportional changes” and “exported”, so the topic is generally recognisable. However, the range is limited and several choices are inaccurate or awkward, such as “the cost of a country export” and “highest in numbers”; the chart reports export values, not costs or counts. There are also spelling errors in “jwellery” and inconsistent spacing in “goods,gems”. Choose precise terms for the data and use common collocations such as “export earnings”, “value of exports” and “highest figures”. A wider range of comparison language would also help describe increases, decreases and stable values.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response attempts both a compound opening sentence and an overview, but the grammatical range remains limited and errors recur. For example, “a country export” lacks the appropriate plural or possessive form, and “the international trade is petroleum and engineered goods” does not form a clear grammatical comparison. The clause beginning “Whereas” is incomplete, while “The proportion changes in values shows” has a subject–verb agreement problem and is left unfinished. Punctuation is also inconsistent, with missing spaces after commas and full stops. Practise writing complete sentences with a clear subject and verb, and check agreement and sentence boundaries before finishing.

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.