Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)
The bar chart illustrates the top ten countries, namely China, United States, Russia, Japan, India, Canada, France, Brazil, Germany, Korea, Rep. for the production and consumption of electricity in 2014. Overall, China recorded the highest figures for production and consumption of electricity, while Korea, Rep. presented the lowest figures in the consumption of electricity and France was second lowest.
Looking at China, stood at 5,398 (billion kWh) in production and 5,322 (billion kWh) in consumption of electricity, followed by electricity production in United states was 4,099 (billion kWh) and consumption was 3,866 (billion kWh). Turning to Russia, it represented the production of electricity was 1,057 (billion kWh) and consumption was 1,038 (billion kWh).
Japan was at 936.2 (billion kWh) in production and consumption was 856.7 (billion kWh), whereas India constituted 871 (billion kWh) in production and 698.8 (billion kWh) in consumption. Canada consumed electricity in 2014 was 499.9 (billion kWh) and produced 618.9 (billion kWh). France electricity production was 561.2 (billion kWh) and consumption was 462.9 (billion kWh). Brazil and Germany production was 530.7 and 526.6 (billion kWh) and consumption was 455.8 and 582.5 (billion kWh). Korea, Rep. recorded the smallest consumption of 449.5 (billion kWh) and production was 485.1 (billion kWh).
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0
The student has successfully covered all parts of the prompt by presenting the top ten countries for electricity production and consumption in 2014. An appropriate overview is provided in the first paragraph, highlighting China as the leader and noting Korea, Rep. and France at the lower end. Key features and comparisons are made across the chart data, such as contrasting China's figures of 5,398 billion kWh produced and 5,322 billion kWh consumed against other nations. However, the report tends to list data point by point rather than fully synthesizing or grouping the information effectively, which holds the response back from a higher band. Overall, the information reported is accurate and well-grounded in the visual data.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response is organized into three paragraphs, starting with an introduction and overview, followed by body paragraphs detailing the countries. There is a logical sequence in how the data is presented, moving from top countries down to the lower ones. Cohesive devices such as 'Looking at', 'Turning to', and 'whereas' are utilized to guide the reader through the data, although some transitions feel a bit mechanical or repetitive. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the introduction from the detailed body points, ensuring overall coherence throughout the text.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for an academic task, using appropriate terms such as 'production', 'consumption', 'illustrates', and 'recorded'. There are some attempts at less common vocabulary, but word choice and collocation are sometimes awkward, for example, saying 'Canada consumed electricity in 2014 was...' instead of 'Canada's electricity consumption in 2014 was...'. Vocabulary errors do not impede communication, but they reflect a slightly limited precision and flexibility in phrasing.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but control over grammar is inconsistent. There are several grammatical errors and awkward clause structures throughout the text, such as 'Looking at China, stood at 5,398...' where the subject is missing, and 'France electricity production was...' which lacks a possessive apostrophe. Additionally, sentences like 'Canada consumed electricity in 2014 was 499.9' exhibit severe syntactic errors. While these errors rarely completely impede understanding, they occur frequently and prevent the response from achieving a higher band score.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.