Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-09-18
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 compares the amount of derivation and usage of electricity by the top ten states in 2014.
Overall, China produced and consumed the most amount of electricity as leading at the top position just before USA. All the other countries were not even close to the numbers of the former two countries.
China made 5,398 billion kWh of energy in that year, whereas USA had produced 4,099 billion kWh, standing just after China. Both the countries used a bit less energy than they transformed. Russia had consumed 1,036 billion kWh of electricity, which was approximately equal to the amount they produced that was 1,057 kWh. Japan, India, Canada, France and Brazil were the following countries in terms of the data, they illustrated almost the same image compared to the former described ones.
The amount of energy consumed by all of the countries was less than they produced, but a different scenario was witnessed for Germany. It used 582.5 billion kWh of electricity, although it made only 526.6 billion kWh of that. Sitting at the bottom of the list, Republic of Korea also showed a similar statistics.
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 student addresses the main task by comparing electricity production and consumption in ten countries, providing an overview and selecting key data points such as those for China and the US. However, there are some inaccuracies in reporting the data: the text states 'Russia had consumed 1,036 billion kWh', which is slightly inaccurate compared to the chart value of 1,038, and a minor confusion appears at the end where the Republic of Korea is said to show a similar statistics to Germany (consuming more than it produced), whereas the chart shows Korea's production (485.1) was actually higher than its consumption (449.5). Despite these errors, the main features are captured, placing this response at Band 6.0.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response is arranged coherently with a clear overall progression from an introduction to general trends and specific country details, ending with exceptions. Paragraphing is used logically to group ideas, such as grouping Germany and Korea in the final paragraph. Cohesive devices are generally present ('Overall', 'whereas', 'although'), but some transitions are slightly mechanical or awkward, such as 'illustrated almost the same image compared to the former described ones'. Referencing is occasionally unclear, particularly in the discussion of smaller countries where individual data points are glossed over rather than clearly articulated. This performance aligns well with the Band 6 descriptors.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common collocations and synonyms, such as 'derivation and usage' for production and consumption, and 'transformed'. However, there are noticeable inaccuracies in word choice and expression, such as 'most amount of electricity as leading at the top position', 'transformed' instead of generated/produced, and describing Republic of Korea's statistics as similar to Germany's when they are opposite. Spelling is generally accurate, but the lexical slips limit the score to a solid Band 6.0.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The writer uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including subordinate clauses introduced by 'whereas' and 'although'. There are several grammatical errors and awkward phrasings, such as 'were not even close to the numbers of the former two countries', 'Both the countries', and 'a similar statistics' (treating statistics as a singular countable noun here). Nevertheless, these errors do not seriously impede communication and the meaning remains clear throughout. This demonstrates the characteristics of Band 6 grammar.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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