Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-09-15
IELTS Writing Task 1 question
The bar chart below shows the top ten countries for the production and consumption of electricity in 2014.
Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
Student answer (Band 5.5)
The bar chart illustrates the top ranked countries for the production and consumption of electricity in 2014.
Overall, the graph demonstrates that China had the highest figures of approximately 5,398 (billion kWh) for the manufacturing and 5,322 (billion kWh) for the utilization of electricity. In contrast, Korea and Rep shows the lowest proportion.
Initially, China had a minor difference of 76 (billion kWh) units, between its output production and consumption.
The United States of America shows substantially the second highest proportion of around 4,099 (billion kWh) and 3,866.
Secondly, when we consider the figures of Germany it has more units of consumption rather than the production, they are utilizing almost 582.5 (billion kWh) and produce around 526.6 (billion kWh). Russia, Korea and Rep represent the minor differences comparatively in other countries.
Relatively, Canada, United States of America and Japan produced a significant amount and has a small amount of backup to avail in future.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response covers the main features of the chart well, identifying China and the US as the leading countries in both production and consumption. The student provides specific data points, such as China's figures of '5,398' and '5,322' billion kWh, and correctly highlights Germany as a notable exception where consumption exceeded production. An overview is present at the beginning of the second paragraph. However, some comparisons lack precision, and phrasing such as 'Korea and Rep shows the lowest proportion' is inaccurate since South Korea ranks 10th rather than having the absolute lowest figures among all possible countries, and 'proportion' is misused for absolute billion kWh values. Furthermore, the final paragraph introduces vague speculation ('has a small amount of backup to avail in future') not supported by the data. Overall, it addresses the task adequately for a Band 6.0.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response is organized into short paragraphs, attempting a logical progression from an introduction to an overview, followed by body details and a concluding remark. However, paragraphing and cohesion are disjointed. The single-sentence paragraphs ('Initially, China had a minor difference...') disrupt the flow, and transition markers like 'Initially' and 'Secondly' are used awkwardly or mechanically. Referencing is sometimes unclear, as seen in 'they are utilizing almost 582.5' where the antecedent is ambiguous. While the overarching structure is somewhat coherent, the awkward transitions and fragmented paragraphing place this clearly in the Band 5.5 to 6.0 range.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, successfully incorporating terms like 'production', 'consumption', 'output', and 'utilization'. However, there are noticeable lexical inaccuracies and inappropriate word choices. For instance, the student writes 'manufacturing' instead of 'production', uses 'proportion' when referring to absolute billion kWh values, and refers to 'Korea and Rep' instead of South Korea. Phrases like 'backup to avail in future' are unnatural and imprecise. While the student attempts less common vocabulary, the persistent inaccuracies in word choice and collocation prevent a higher score, matching the descriptors for Band 5.5.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and comparative structures. However, grammatical errors are frequent. There are issues with subject-verb agreement ('Korea and Rep shows'), awkward phrasing ('it has more units of consumption rather than the production'), and incomplete sentence structures ('and has a small amount of backup'). Punctuation and phrasing in sentences like 'The United States of America shows substantially the second highest proportion of around 4,099 (billion kWh) and 3,866' are also problematic due to missing nouns. These errors occasionally cause difficulty for the reader, placing the response at Band 5.5.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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