Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-10-01

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 manufacturation and usage of the electricity of top ten countries in 2014. Overall, the bar chart clarifies the proportion of consumption and production of electricity into 10 distinct countries, in which China is at the top of list and Korea is lowest to the all. While, remaining eight countries fluctuated. The bar chart demonstrates that the China has the highest rate in production and consumption of electricity which accounts for 5,398 and 5,332(billions kWh). The second country in this list is United States with 4,099 and 3,866(billions kWh). While, next 6 countries has high production rate and low consumption rate which dragg down sequently, in which Russia has 1,057 and 1,038(billions kWh). Next countries are Japan, India , Canada, France and Brazil with (936.2, 856.7), (871, 698.8), (618.9, 499.9), (561.2, 462.9) and (530.7, 455.8) billions kWh of energy. Germany is at number 9 in which production rate is lower(526.6) while, consumption rate is higher(582.5 billions kWh). Lowest of these ten countries is Korea with 485.1 billions kWh production rate and 449.5 billions kWh consumption rate.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response partially addresses the prompt by reporting key figures from the bar chart, such as China and the United States leading in both production and consumption. However, the overview is rather basic and repetitive, stating that the remaining countries fluctuated without giving a clear overall picture of the trends. Certain details are handled superficially or rely on awkward groupings, such as the claim that the next six countries have high production and low consumption rates when the data shows that consumption is actually slightly lower than production across most of them. Furthermore, some of the data reporting is slightly mechanical or incomplete. To reach a higher standard, the response would need to select and highlight more meaningful comparisons, such as identifying anomalies like Germany where consumption exceeds production, and provide a fully developed overview that captures the main trends across the data.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The text demonstrates some general organization with an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion-like final sentence, but it lacks a clear overall progression. The use of cohesive devices is frequently mechanical, repetitive, or inaccurate, as seen in the frequent reliance on transitional phrases like 'While' and 'Next countries' to start sentences and link ideas. Paragraphing is attempted, but the grouping of information lacks logical flow; for instance, bundling six countries into a single dense sentence makes the data difficult to follow. Referencing is also occasionally unclear, creating a disjointed reading experience. To improve coherence, the writer should use a wider variety of cohesive links naturally, ensure each body paragraph has a clear thematic focus, and structure the progression of data so that comparisons flow smoothly from one point to the next.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is limited but minimally adequate to convey the basic statistics from the chart. There are noticeable lexical errors and inappropriate word choices, such as 'manufacturation' instead of 'manufacture' or 'production', and awkward phrasing like 'dragg down sequently'. The student attempts some task-specific vocabulary, but the range remains narrow and repetitive, with frequent reliance on the words 'production' and 'consumption'. Spelling errors and incorrect word forms occasionally cause some difficulty for the reader. To achieve a higher band, the writer needs to incorporate a wider and more precise range of vocabulary, including synonyms and less common lexical items related to data reporting, while ensuring accurate word formation and natural collocations throughout.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The text displays a very limited range of sentence structures, and attempts at more complex sentences are frequently faulty. There are frequent grammatical errors, including issues with articles ('the China', 'United States' missing an article), subject-verb agreement ('next 6 countries has'), prepositions, and awkward clause structures like 'in which China is at the top of list and Korea is lowest to the all.' Punctuation and bracket usage for data presentation are also non-standard. These frequent errors cause some difficulty for the reader and impede comprehension. To improve, the student must work on mastering basic sentence construction, ensuring correct subject-verb agreement and article usage, and building reliable control over complex sentence forms without introducing frequent grammatical slips.

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