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 graph illustrates the percentage change in five different categories of exports in one country in 2016 from 2015.

Overall, the proportions of profit in textiles had increased substantialy in 2016 from the previous year. On contrary, gems and jewellery witnessed loss in its export.

In 2016, four categories out of total experienced increase in export proportions including petroleum products 3%, engineering goods 8.5%, agricultural products to 0.81% and textiles peaked at 15.24% in 2016 comparing with 2015.Only one category showed a slight decline

The only category of product which showed decline in percentage was gems and jewellery that was about 5.18 % in 2016 . As a whole graph showed that 2016 was reported for a profitable year because of the potential increase in the percentage of profit in products of different categories for export despite the minor loss of percentage accounted for one category.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the main direction of change: four categories rose, while gems and jewellery fell, and you include the reported percentage changes. However, the task asks you to summarise export values as well as the percentage-change table. The response focuses almost entirely on percentages and does not report the dollar figures or compare the categories’ export earnings; for example, petroleum products were the highest-valued category in both years, while textiles rose from about $26 billion to $31 billion. The claim that 2016 was a “profitable year” is not established by the chart, which shows export values rather than profit. The response is also four words below the required minimum. Include key values and a concise overview grounded in the data.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and details about increases and the one decline. This gives the reader a basic route through the information. However, progression is limited because the final paragraph repeats the point that gems and jewellery declined, already stated in the overview and the preceding paragraph. Linking is sometimes awkward or mechanical, as in “On contrary” and “As a whole graph showed,” and the sentence beginning “In 2016” runs directly into “Only one category” without a space or clear punctuation. Group the figures more purposefully—for example, rising categories together and the decline separately—and avoid repeating the same feature to make the organisation clearer.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some task-relevant vocabulary, including “categories,” “export,” “decline,” and “percentage,” and the reader can generally understand the intended comparisons. However, the range is limited and several choices are imprecise for describing a chart. “Proportions of profit” does not accurately describe export values, while “witnessed loss” and “profitable year” suggest profit or loss rather than a change in export earnings. There are also noticeable spelling and collocation problems, such as “substantialy” and “peaked at” for a percentage increase. Use precise terms such as “export earnings,” “rose,” and “fell,” and check spelling and natural word combinations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more extended sentences, and the main message is usually understandable. However, errors in sentence construction and punctuation make parts of the response less clear. For example, “In 2016, four categories out of total experienced increase” is missing grammatical elements, and “The only category of product which showed decline in percentage was gems and jewellery that was about 5.18 %” has an unclear clause structure. The sentence starting “As a whole graph showed” also lacks an article and has an awkward construction. There are punctuation issues, including a missing space after “2015.” and inconsistent spacing before percent signs. Practise accurate articles, sentence boundaries, and clause formation while retaining a mix of sentence types.

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