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 bar chart illustrates the production and consumption of electricity across the top then countries in 2014.

Overall, production was clearly the largest, and consumption was the smallest.

In China, the production of electricity stood at 5,396 billion (kWh) well below consumption at 5,322 billion (kWh). But in United States, it was 4,099 billion (kWh) and 3,866 billion (kWh) respectively. However, Russia production was 1,057 billion (kWh) and consumption was 1,038 billion (kWh). Moreover, in Japan electricity production was 936.2 billion (kWh) and consumption was 856.7 billion (kWh). Whereas, in India it was 871 billion (kWh) and 698 billion (kWh) respectively. The production and consumption of electricity in Canada and france was 618.9 billion (kWh), 499.9 billion (kWh), 561.2 billion (kWh) and 462.9 billion (kWh) respectively. On the other hand, in Brazil it was 530.7 billion (kWh) and 455.8 billion (kWh). While, in Germany the production was 526.6 billion (kWh) and consumption was 582.5 billion (kWh). In Korea, it had the lowest production and consumption.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0

The response attempts to cover the task by reporting figures from the chart, but it suffers from significant inaccuracies and misinterpretations. For instance, the overview statement incorrectly claims that "production was clearly the largest, and consumption was the smallest," which misreads the relative data points and relationship between the two metrics. Furthermore, there are data transcription errors, such as stating that China's production was 5,396 instead of 5,398, and reversing the production and consumption relationship for China by claiming production was "well below consumption" when the chart shows production at 5,398 and consumption at 5,322. The details are presented as a mechanical list of numbers rather than a well-synthesized summary of main features and comparisons. Key features like the dominant positions of China and the United States are mentioned, but the overall lack of accurate reporting and meaningful comparisons keeps the response at this minimal level.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

The text demonstrates a basic attempt to organise information, but it lacks a clear overall progression and logical structure. The essay is presented in a single dense block after the introductory sentence, failing to use paragraphing effectively to group related data. Cohesive devices are used mechanically and repetitively, such as the constant reliance on "and," "whereas," and "respectively," many of which are misused. For example, in the sentence "Whereas, in India it was 871 billion (kWh) and 698 billion (kWh) respectively," the use of "respectively" is incorrect because only two figures are listed without a prior parallel pairing. Referencing is occasionally unclear, and the overall arrangement of countries feels disjointed, moving abruptly from one data point to the next without guiding the reader through clear trends or categories.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, providing enough range to discuss electricity production and consumption. The writer attempts less common vocabulary and terms such as "production," "consumption," and appropriate units like "billion (kWh)." However, there are notable word choice and phrasing errors, such as writing "top then countries" instead of "top ten countries" and awkward phrasing like "Russia production." Spelling and word choice errors do not heavily impede communication, allowing the reader to understand the general intent, but inaccuracies in collocation and vocabulary control prevent the writing from achieving a higher level of precision and sophistication.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response displays a limited range of sentence structures, relying heavily on simple sentences and repetitive listing patterns (e.g., "...production was X and consumption was Y"). While there are attempts at complex structures using conjunctions like "whereas" and "while," these are frequently faulty in punctuation and syntax. There are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text, including missing articles (e.g., "in United States," "in france"), incorrect prepositions or possessive forms (e.g., "Russia production" instead of "Russian production"), and awkward agreement. Punctuation errors are also present, such as misplaced commas after transitional words like "However" and "Whereas." These frequent errors occasionally cause difficulty for the reader and reflect limited control over grammatical forms.

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