Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-10-06

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 production and consumption in top ten countries in 2014. Overall it can be clearly seen that the highest production and consumption of electricity in China, while the lowest production and consumption of electricity in Korea, Rep.

First of all, in china, the production electricity 5398 billion kWs and consumption was 5322 billion kWs. Secondly, The production of electricity accounted for 4099 billion kWs in United States, while the consumption was 3866 billion kWs. Furthermore, in Russia, the production of electricity and consumption of electricity both are similar trend approximately 1057 billion kWs. Japan and India both almost same at 936 and 871 billion kWs respectively. Consumption was 856 billion kWs in japan and 698 billion kWs in india.

Moreover, the same trend was maintained between canada and France, at around 600 billion kWs. In Brazil and Germany, Both in the production of electricity almost same at 530 billion kWs, whereas the consumption of electricity was 455 billion kWs in Brazil and in Germany marginally increased at 582 billion kWs. Finally, in korea, Rep, the production and consumption of electricitu in same trend around 485 billion kWs.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by summarising the main features of the bar chart, identifying China and the United States as the top producers and consumers, and noting the ranking of Korea. However, the treatment of the data is limited and under-developed. Instead of providing a coherent overview and selecting key comparisons, the writer resorts to listing individual figures mechanically, such as 'in china, the production electricity 5398 billion kWs and consumption was 5322 billion kWs.' Furthermore, there are inaccuracies in reporting; for example, the writer claims that Russia and Korea showed production and consumption values that were 'similar' or in the 'same trend' without properly contrasting the actual numerical gaps. To move to a higher band, the student needs to select and highlight major trends and key comparisons rather than attempting to catalog every single country's data point.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response shows some organisation with a clear paragraph structure separating the introduction, the top countries, and the remaining countries. However, the logical progression is hindered by repetitive and mechanical linking words like 'Secondly', 'Furthermore', and 'Moreover'. Referencing within the text is sometimes unclear or faulty, as seen when the writer abruptly introduces comparisons without clear signposting or grouping. Cohesive devices are used somewhat rigidly, and the overall arrangement lacks a smooth, flowing progression between sentences. To achieve a higher score, the writer should employ a wider variety of cohesive devices more naturally and group the data into meaningful categories—such as grouping countries by production volume—rather than going strictly down the rank list with repetitive sentence structures.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The lexical resource is limited and minimally adequate for the task. The vocabulary used is repetitive, relying heavily on basic terms like 'production', 'consumption', 'electricity', and 'trend'. There are several noticeable lexical errors, including word form and missing prepositions or verbs, such as 'the production electricity' and 'in korea, Rep, the production and consumption of electricitu in same trend'. Spelling mistakes like 'electricitu' and capitalisation errors like 'china' and 'japan' also detract from the quality. To improve lexical resource, the writer needs to expand their range of vocabulary by incorporating synonyms (e.g., 'generation' instead of 'production', 'utilised' instead of 'consumption') and ensure greater accuracy in word forms and spelling.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The writer uses a limited range of sentence structures, relying mostly on simple clauses and basic comparative forms. Attempts at more complex sentences are frequently faulty, often lacking necessary verbs or prepositions, such as in the phrase 'Japan and India both almost same at 936 and 871 billion kWs respectively' where the verb 'were' is missing. There are frequent grammatical errors involving subject-verb agreement, missing articles, and awkward prepositional phrases that can cause some difficulty for the reader. To reach a higher band, the student must demonstrate a better control of complex sentence structures and eliminate frequent errors in basic grammatical patterns, verb forms, and punctuation.

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

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