Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-10-07

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 compares the use of electricity production and consumption in 2014 for top ten countries namely China, United States, Russia, Japan, India, Canada, France, Brazil, Germany and Korea. The electricity is measured in the scale of billion. In the graph, production bar is highlighted in the darker shade while consumption bar is highlighted with the lighter shade. Overall, the largest production of electricity is contributed by China while the least electricity is produced by Korea. Germany is the only country that has its consumption figure slightly higher than the production figure whereas the other countries figures are vice-versa. From the graph, it is evident that the difference between electricity production and consumption remains approximately the same. In few countries like China, Russia, Germany and Korea, the difference between the production and consumption is relatively marginal. Although the rate of growth varied considerably. In total, all the ten countries contributed to the production of electricity globally.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the chart’s subject and give a relevant overview: China leads production, Korea has the lowest production, and Germany is the only country where consumption exceeds production. These are useful main features. However, the response does not report any figures, so the scale of the differences and the contrast between the two leading countries are not demonstrated. The claim that the difference remains “approximately the same” is not supported: gaps vary, and India’s and Canada’s are notably larger than those of China or Russia. “All the ten countries contributed to production globally” is also not a meaningful comparison from this chart, which shows only these countries. Select key values and make the overview more precise.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response moves from an introduction to an overview and then to further observations, so there is some organisation. However, it is presented as one continuous paragraph, and the progression between points is not always clear. The sentence beginning “Although the rate of growth varied considerably” is a fragment and does not connect effectively to the preceding claim; moreover, the chart gives a single year, so growth over time is not shown. Phrases such as “From the graph” and “In total” do little to clarify relationships, while the final statement repeats the general topic rather than concluding with a useful comparison. Separate the overview from the details and group countries by meaningful similarities or contrasts.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use a reasonable range of task-related vocabulary, including “production,” “consumption,” “contributed,” “marginal,” and “varied considerably.” This is enough to communicate the general subject, and the meaning is usually clear. Some choices are imprecise or unnatural, however: “use of electricity production and consumption” confuses the relationship between the two measures, and “the electricity is measured in the scale of billion” does not accurately express the unit. “Rate of growth” is also unsuitable because the chart compares figures for one year, not change over time. Aim for precise chart language and natural collocations, such as “electricity output,” “consumption levels,” and “measured in billion kilowatt-hours.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

There is a mix of simple and more complex sentence forms, and several sentences communicate their main point clearly, including the comparison beginning “Germany is the only country…”. Some grammatical errors remain. In “top ten countries namely,” punctuation is needed before “namely”; “the other countries figures” needs a possessive form (“the other countries’ figures”); and “In few countries” requires an article (“In a few countries”). The sentence “Although the rate of growth varied considerably” is incomplete because the subordinate clause has no main clause. These issues do not generally prevent understanding, but they reduce accuracy. Check possessives, articles, and whether each sentence contains a complete independent clause.

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