Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-10-05

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 5.0)

The graph shows the comparison of production and consumption of electricity of top ten countries. China is ranked number one with 5,398 billion kWh and consumption of 5,322 billion kWh. United States lies at the second position, producing 4099 billion kWh and consuming 3,866 billion kWh. Russia, at the third position, produces 1,057 billion kWh and consumes 1,038 billion kWh. Fourth lies Japan with a production of 936.2 billion kWh and a consumption of 856.7 billion kWh. India, at the fifth position with a production of 871 billion kWh and consumption of 698.8 billion kWh. Then comes Canada, at the sixth postion, produces 618.9 billion kWh and consumes 499.9 billion kWh. At the seventh position lies France, producing 561.2 billion kWh and consuming 462.9 billion kWh. At last three positions lies Brazil, Germany, and Korea with a production of 530.7, 526.6, 485.1 and consumption of 455.8, 582.5 and 449.5 respectively.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

The response addresses the task only partially because it lacks an overview, which is a key requirement for Academic Task 1. Instead of summarising the main trends or overall patterns from the chart, the writer launches straight into a detailed, data-heavy listing of individual countries, such as stating that China is ranked number one with 5,398 billion kWh and consumption of 5,322 billion kWh. Furthermore, the selection of data is mechanical, and the response stops abruptly after listing the final countries without synthesizing the information or providing a concluding summary. To achieve a higher band, the student must include a clear overview paragraph highlighting the overall trends, such as China and the United States vastly outproducing all other nations.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response shows some organisation in that the data is presented following the rank order of the countries in the chart, but there is no clear overall progression due to the absence of paragraphing and an overview. The entire response is written as a single block of text, making it difficult for the reader to follow a logical structure. Cohesive devices are minimal and repetitive, relying heavily on transitional phrases like at the second position and at the third position. Referencing is sometimes unclear, particularly in the final sentence where multiple values are listed consecutively without clear matching to the respective countries: with a production of 530.7, 526.6, 485.1 and consumption of 455.8, 582.5 and 449.5 respectively. Better paragraphing and more varied cohesive links would significantly improve the clarity of the text.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, allowing the student to report the numerical data and basic concepts of production and consumption. However, the range is limited and repetitive, with frequent reuse of words like production, consumption, and position. There are some minor lexical inaccuracies, such as the awkward phrasing at last three positions lies Brazil, Germany, and Korea instead of in the bottom three positions or among the bottom three countries. Less common vocabulary is attempted with limited success, and spelling is generally accurate. To reach a higher band, the writer should incorporate a wider variety of synonyms and functional verbs to describe data changes and comparisons without relying on formulaic expressions.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response demonstrates a limited range of sentence structures, relying primarily on simple statements and repetitive subject-verb patterns to list data points. Attempts at more complex structures are often faulty, such as the awkward inversion in Fourth lies Japan with a production of... and At the seventh position lies France, producing.... There are frequent grammatical errors, particularly missing prepositions and articles, such as in the final sentence where the sequence of numbers lacks proper prepositional support. Punctuation is basic, and while sentences are generally short enough not to completely obscure meaning, the frequent grammatical awkwardness causes some difficulty for the reader. Incorporating a greater variety of error-free complex sentences would improve this area.

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