Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-16
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 chat illustrates the export earning of a country in five various categories during 2015 and 2016 while the table discribes the change in percentage in each category of exports in 2016 compared with 2015.
Overall, petroleum products and engineered goods generated highest export earnings in both years. Whereas textiles earned the least in 2015. Almost all the products experienced rise in export earnings with the exception of gems and jewellery.
In 2015, petroleum products earned approximately 60 billion and engineered goods earned 56 billion . In 2016 the earnings of petroleum products reached around 63 billion and earned 3 billion with percentage of 3 and engineered goods earnings reached around 62 billion and experienced rise in percentage also with 8.5.
Gems and jewellery earned 41 in 2015 and experienced downfall in 2016 with percentage of 5.18. Agricultural products is the onest who experienced a little rise and reached from 30 billion in 2015 to 31 billion in 2016. At last, textiles earned 26 billion in 2015 and experienced significantly rise in 2016 with the earnings of 41 billion with the percentage of 15.24. This was the largest earnings amoungest all five categories with the percentage to 15.24.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
You identify the main categories and give a useful overview that petroleum and engineered goods were the leading earners, while gems and jewellery declined. However, several figures and comparisons are inaccurate: gems and jewellery were about 43 billion in 2015 and 41 billion in 2016, not 41 billion in 2015; textiles rose to about 31 billion, not 41 billion. The claim that textiles became the largest category is therefore incorrect; they remained among the lowest earners. The percentage changes are also presented as earnings in places—for example, petroleum earnings did not increase by 3 billion. To make the report more complete and reliable, distinguish values from percentage changes and check each category against the chart.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview and paragraphs describing the figures. This helps the reader follow the general topic, and phrases such as “Overall” and “In 2015” signal the stages of the report. However, progression becomes unclear when several categories and comparisons are compressed into long sentences. The petroleum and engineered-goods sentence mixes earnings with percentage changes, while the final textile sentence repeats the percentage and adds an inaccurate comparison. Some links, including “At last,” are not well suited to presenting the final category. Grouping the categories more clearly and using direct comparisons between years would make the organisation more coherent and the connections between details easier to follow.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
You use relevant topic vocabulary, including “export earnings,” “categories,” “percentage,” and “experienced rise,” so the reader can identify the subject of the report. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate or awkward, such as “bar chat,” “earned 3 billion with percentage of 3,” and “experienced significantly rise.” “Downfall” is also an unsuitable choice for a modest decrease in export value. Spelling errors such as “discribes” and “amoungest” further reduce precision. Aim for standard chart-reporting expressions and use the same terms consistently for values and percentage changes; this will make the description clearer and more appropriately formal.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
You attempt both simple sentences and more complex structures, including the contrast in “Almost all the products experienced rise … with the exception of gems and jewellery.” However, the range is limited, and errors occur frequently enough to make some sentences difficult to interpret. For example, “petroleum products reached around 63 billion and earned 3 billion with percentage of 3” has an unclear structure, while “Agricultural products is the onest who experienced” contains agreement and sentence-pattern problems. Articles and plurals are also inconsistent, as in “generated highest export earnings” and “experienced rise.” Work on complete sentence structures, subject–verb agreement, and articles, and punctuate sentences carefully to separate figures from explanations.
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