Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-11

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 6.0)

The given bar chart and table illustrate a country's export earnings in different categories from 2015 to 2016.

Overall, the highest revenue was generated by exporting petroleum products, while the lowest came from textiles over the years. Earnings from every category increased apart from gems and jewellery

In 2015, earnings from petroleum products were 70 billion and following that engineered goods generated revenue of 67 billon. Gems and jewellery sector earned 53 billion. Agricultural products and textiles sector generated revenue of 41 billion and 36 billion respectively.

In 2016, revenue from petroleum products rose by 3% and reached to 73 billion. Also, earnings of engineering goods increased by 8.5% and stood at 71 billion. The only category which saw a decline was gems and jewellery. It fell by 5.18 % and acounted by 49 billion. Agricultural products setor were relatively stable. It only increased by 0.81% and earned 42 billion in 2016. A huge rise is seen at the textiles which is 15.24% and the earnings reached to 43 billion.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify the main categories and provide an overview that petroleum products earned the most and gems and jewellery declined. However, the overview is partly inaccurate: textiles were not the lowest in both years, since agricultural products were higher in 2015 but tied with textiles in 2016. More importantly, nearly all reported dollar values are substantially above the chart: for example, petroleum was about $61–63 billion, not $70–73 billion, and engineered goods were about $57–62 billion, not $67–71 billion. The direction of change is mostly correct, but the figures and the claim that every category increased apart from gems do not accurately represent the data, as agricultural earnings were essentially stable. Select the key trends and check each figure against the visual before writing.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction, an overview, and separate paragraphs for 2015 and 2016. This makes the information easy to follow, and transitions such as “In 2015” and “In 2016” guide the reader through the comparison. The overview also gives the response a useful central focus. To make the progression more effective, group related comparisons rather than listing every category in sequence, and connect the figures more explicitly—for example, contrast the fall in gems with the stability of agriculture and the stronger rise in textiles. The final paragraph’s repeated “Also” and “The only category” constructions feel somewhat mechanical, and the missing full stop after the overview sentence slightly disrupts the flow.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use a suitable range of task-related vocabulary, including “export earnings,” “generated,” “rose,” “decline,” and “relatively stable.” These choices help communicate the main trends, and the meaning is generally clear. Some word choices and collocations are less natural or precise, however: “reached to 73 billion” would be “reached 63 billion,” while “acounted by 49 billion” does not express the intended figure clearly. There are also spelling errors such as “billon,” “acounted,” and “setor,” and the category label varies between “engineered goods” and “engineering goods.” Use the chart’s exact category names and practise standard reporting phrases such as “stood at,” “rose to,” and “fell to.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use both simple statements and some more developed structures, including “while the lowest came from textiles” and “The only category which saw a decline…”. Most sentences remain understandable, but some grammatical errors reduce accuracy. The overview sentence “Earnings from every category increased apart from gems and jewellery” needs a full stop, and “Agricultural products setor were relatively stable” has a subject–verb agreement problem; use “Agricultural products were…” or “The agricultural sector was…”. In “reached to 73 billion,” the preposition is not needed, and “the earnings reached to 43 billion” repeats this pattern. Aim to vary sentence structures while checking agreement, punctuation, and verb patterns in each sentence.

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