Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-09-21

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 6.5)

The bar chart compares the top ten countries in term of electricity production and consumption in 2014, measured in billion kWh.

Overall, China was the largest consumer of electricity, while Korea recorded the lowest figures among the ten countries. In almost all nations production was greater then consumption. Russia was only one where production and consumption were equal.

China ranked first, generating 5398 billion kWh, consuming 5322 billion kWh. The United States followed by 4099 billion kWh of electricity production and 3866 billion kWh of consumption. Russia ranked third, with both electricity generation and consumption standing at 1,057 billion kWh. Japan was fourth largest producer, generating 936.2 billion kWh, while it consumption was slightly low at 856.7 billion kWh. India occupied fifth place, generating 871 billion kWh and consuming 698.8 billion kWh.

Among the remaining countries, Canada generated 618.9 billion kWh and consumed 499.9 billion kWh. France, Brazil, Germany and Korea produced 561.2 billion kWh, 530.7 billion kWh, 526.6 billion kWh and 485.1 billion kWh, respectively. Their electricity consumption was lower at 462.9 billion kWh, 455.8 billion kWh, 582.5 billion kWh and 449.5 billion kWh, respectively. Overall, electricity production exceeded consumption in almost every country except Russia, where the two figures were identical.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The student successfully addresses all parts of the prompt, selecting and reporting the main features of the chart with accurate data. An overview is provided, noting that China was the largest consumer and Korea the lowest, and that production generally exceeded consumption except in Russia. However, there is a factual error in the overview and conclusion where the student states that Russia was the only country where production and consumption were equal (Russia's production was 1057 and consumption 1038, meaning they were actually very close but not identical; the student likely misread the chart or the numbers provided). Despite this minor misinterpretation of the data, the main trends and specific figures for the top ten countries are comprehensively covered and well supported.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The response is logically organized with a clear overall progression. It begins with an introductory statement and overview, moves into specific details for the top countries, groups the remaining countries effectively, and ends with a brief concluding summary (though this repeats the overview point). Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate ideas. Cohesive devices are employed with reasonable flexibility, such as 'Overall', 'The United States followed by', and 'Among the remaining countries'. However, referencing and transitions could be smoother, and the repetition of the point about Russia at the end slightly weakens the logical flow.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates an adequate to good range of vocabulary suitable for an academic task 1 response, using terms such as 'generates', 'consumption', 'exceeded', and 'respectively'. There are some minor lexical inaccuracies, such as 'in term of' instead of 'in terms of', and 'while it consumption was slightly low' (grammatical and lexical slip for 'its consumption was slightly lower'). Less common lexical items are attempted with some awareness of collocation, though occasional errors in word choice persist.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The response exhibits a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, incorporating participial phrases ('generating 5398 billion kWh') and comparative clauses. There are several grammatical errors and awkward phrasing, such as 'production was greater then consumption' (spelling of 'than'), 'Russia was only one where' (missing article 'the'), and 'while it consumption was slightly low'. Punctuation and sentence boundaries are generally controlled, but these recurring minor errors prevent the response from achieving a higher band score.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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