Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

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

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 given chart illustrates export data of a country mentioning multiple categories of products and their export rate during 2015 and 2016.

Overall, every department had more or less rise in trade during 2016 except gems and jewelry one.

Petroleum and engineering goods that were already high in demand during 2015 which further increased in 2016. But engineering stuff had rise of 8.5% of demad contributing almost 70 billion dollars to economy meanwhile petroleum had just 3% rise in export.

Now discussing other three sectors, the agricultural sector stayed pretty much consistent over the year with very little increase in export. On the other hand Textile had substantial increase in foreign demand having 15.24% increase in export as compared to previous year.

Meanwhile the gems and jewelry face a regretion in demand, reducing to 5.18% as compared to 2015 and reaching below 50 billion dollars.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the main pattern that most categories rose while gems and jewellery declined, and you include several relevant percentage changes. However, some key figures are misreported: engineered goods reached about $62 billion, not “almost 70 billion,” and gems and jewellery fell from about $43 billion to $41 billion, rather than “reaching below 50 billion” as a clear endpoint. The overview is also imprecise: agricultural exports were approximately unchanged at $31 billion, despite the table’s small positive percentage change. The response is 145 words, below the required 150. Add a concise comparison of the actual values and clarify the overall ranking and changes to cover the visual more fully.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and two paragraphs grouping the categories. This makes the main comparisons reasonably easy to follow, and transitions such as “On the other hand” and “Meanwhile” signal contrast. However, progression is weakened by the abrupt phrase “Now discussing other three sectors” and by switching between value, demand, and percentage change without consistently explaining how these relate. The final paragraph repeats the decline already noted in the overview rather than adding a clear comparison. Organise the body around increases and decreases, and use linking phrases to show precise relationships between the 2015 and 2016 figures.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant task vocabulary, including “export,” “increase,” “consistent,” and “substantial,” and you attempt more specific expressions such as “foreign demand.” However, several choices are informal or imprecise for an academic report: “engineering stuff,” “pretty much,” and “face a regression in demand” do not describe the chart’s export values accurately. There are also noticeable spelling and word-form errors, including “demad” and “regretion,” while “department” is not an appropriate label for product categories. Use precise terms consistently, such as “export earnings,” “category,” and “declined,” and avoid inferring demand when the visual reports values.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mixture of simple and more complex sentences, including the contrast in “On the other hand Textile had substantial increase…” and the clause beginning “which further increased in 2016.” Meaning is generally recoverable, but some sentence structures are incomplete or awkward. For example, “Petroleum and engineering goods that were already high in demand during 2015 which further increased” lacks a clear main clause, and “the gems and jewelry face a regretion” has an inconsistent tense. Articles and sentence boundaries also need attention, as in “had substantial increase” and the comma splice-like construction around “meanwhile petroleum.” Practise complete clauses, consistent past tense, and accurate article use.

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