Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 17 · 2026-10-18

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 graph illustrates comparision of export earnings, while the table provides data on its percentage changes, over a period of one year i.e. from 2015 to 2016 between five distinct economical sectors of a particular country.

Overall, petroleum products was the highest earned sector through the entire period. Conversely, textile exports was the smallest earned sector in 2015, which surged by 2016 where it earned same as agricultural products represnting the two bottom line categories. Textiles witnessed sharply increase in percentage whereas agricultural products slighlty surged.

In 2015 petoleum products was nearly 60 billion which surged significantly to 63 billion in 2016 bby 3 % increase. Similarly, engineered goods was 55 billion in 2015 rosed to approximately 65 billion in 2015 with 8.5% increase . This trend was folowed by textiles which stood at 38 billion in 2015 and increasd to nearly 40 billion in 2016. Furthermore, agricultural products increased slightly with just 0.81% representing the smallest notable increase.

On the other hand, gems and jwellery products witnessed decline during the period which sharply falled from more or less 53 billion in 2015 to nearly 51 billion in 2016 with 5.18% decline.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the main categories and provide an overview, noting petroleum as the top earner and textiles’ strong rise. However, several figures and comparisons do not match the chart: engineered goods are about $57 billion in 2015 and $62 billion in 2016, not $55 billion and $65 billion; textiles are about $26 billion and $31 billion, not $38 billion and $40 billion; and gems fall from about $43 billion to $41 billion, not $53 billion to $51 billion. The overview also incorrectly calls textiles the smallest category in 2016: they equal agricultural products at about $31 billion. These inaccuracies weaken the report, although the main trends and percentage changes are partly covered.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction, an overview, and separate paragraphs describing increases and the decline in gems and jewellery. This makes the information reasonably easy to follow. Linking expressions such as “Overall,” “Similarly,” and “On the other hand” help signal relationships between points. However, the grouping is not always effective: the final paragraph isolates gems, while the earlier details move between categories without a consistent comparison pattern. Some transitions, such as “This trend was followed by textiles,” are also unclear because the comparison does not specify what trend is being followed. Organise the details more systematically—for example, compare the highest-earning categories first, then the remaining categories—and use precise references to improve progression.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a relevant range of task vocabulary, including “export earnings,” “percentage changes,” “decline,” and “surged,” and the meaning is generally understandable. There are also attempts at more formal phrasing, such as “Conversely” and “witnessed.” However, inaccurate word choice and collocation are noticeable: “smallest earned sector,” “two bottom line categories,” and “sharply increase” are not natural descriptions in this context. Spelling errors such as “comparision,” “petoleum,” “represnting,” and “jwellery” further reduce precision. Choose standard chart-reporting phrases such as “lowest-earning category,” “the two lowest categories,” and “rose sharply,” and proofread spelling carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mixture of simple and more complex sentences, including a relative clause in “textile exports was the smallest earned sector in 2015, which surged by 2016” and a contrastive sentence beginning “On the other hand.” The overall meaning is usually recoverable, but some grammatical errors recur. Subject–verb agreement is inconsistent in “petroleum products was” and “engineered goods was”; tense and verb forms are faulty in “rosed” and “sharply falled”; and the sentence about textiles has an unclear clause connection. Punctuation and spacing around percentages and full stops are also uneven. Practise accurate past-tense reporting and agreement, and use shorter, clearly structured comparisons when combining figures.

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