Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-12

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 illustrates the country's exports value in different categories during 2015 and 2016 while comparing the percentage changes happened each year.

Overall, The category that earned highest is petroleum products while textiles earned least. However, textile was the only category which had the higest percentage value comparatively.

There are total of five product categories which include petroleum products, engineering goods, gems and jewellery, agricultural products and textiles.The petrolium products earned upto $60 billion in 2015 and rised 3% by 2016 while the engineering goods earned around $56 billion which increased by 8.5% in 2016.

The only category whose value decreased is gems and jewellery. It made around $40 billion in 2015 which decreased to 5.18% in 2016. Agricultural products made $30 billion in 2015 and had only 0.81% increase in 2016 and lastly only $27 billion was made by textiles category in 2015 and it was the only category with a surge of 15.24% in 2016 reaching $30 billions.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the main categories and give a useful overview: petroleum products were the highest-earning category, while textiles had the largest percentage increase. You also note that gems and jewellery declined. However, some comparisons are incomplete or inaccurate. Textiles were the lowest in 2015, but in 2016 agricultural products and textiles were both about $31 billion, so the overview needs a clearer time reference. The statement that gems “decreased to 5.18%” confuses the percentage change with the export value; its value fell from about $43 billion to $41 billion. Several figures are also imprecise, such as engineering goods at $56 billion rather than about $57 billion. Report the two years’ values separately and distinguish percentage changes from dollar amounts.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction, an overview, and two paragraphs covering the categories. The sequence is generally easy to follow, and linking expressions such as “Overall,” “while,” and “lastly” help connect points. However, the overview and details do not always align clearly: textiles are described as earning the least without specifying that this applies to 2015, and the gems sentence makes the relationship between its dollar value and percentage change confusing. The long final paragraph also groups several categories together, making comparisons harder to track. Use separate, clearly structured comparisons—for example, group categories that rose and identify the one that fell—and make references to each year explicit.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant task vocabulary, including “exports,” “categories,” “percentage,” “increased,” and “decreased,” and the meaning is generally understandable. There is some variety in describing change, as in “rised” and “surge,” but several choices are inaccurate or informal for a data report. “Earned” is repeated where “generated” or “recorded export revenue” would be more precise, and “the higest percentage value” does not clearly express the largest percentage increase. Spelling errors such as “petrolium” and “higest,” along with the awkward phrase “percentage changes happened,” reduce control. Aim for precise collocations and consistent terms such as “export value,” “rose by,” and “percentage change.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of sentence forms, including a contrast in “while the engineering goods earned around $56 billion which increased by 8.5%.” Most ideas remain understandable, but errors in verb forms, sentence construction, and punctuation are noticeable. For example, “rised 3%” should be “rose by 3%,” and “which decreased to 5.18%” creates an unclear grammatical relationship between the value and the percentage. The opening overview also has an incomplete construction: “The category that earned highest is petroleum products.” Capitalisation after “Overall,” and spacing after the full stop are inconsistent. Use straightforward, accurate clauses to report each year’s value and then state the percentage change; this will help you control more complex comparisons.

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