Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-10-11

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 char gives information about the top ten countries (China, United States, Russia, Japan, India, Canada, France, Brazil, Germany, and Korea) for the production and consumption of electricity in 2014.

Overall, China recorded the highest production and consumption of electricity in all countries. While, Korea experienced the less production and consumption.

In 2014, China accounted for 5,398 billion kWh and 5,322 billion kWh, in US recorded for 4,099 billion kWh and 3,866 billion kWh. However, Russia, Japan, and India accumulated less production and consumption accounted for 1,057, 936.2, and 871 in production whereas in consumption at 1,036, 856.7, and 698.8, respectively.

On the other hand, Canada experienced at 6,18.9 billion kWh and 499.9 billion kWh, France at 561.2 billion kWh and 462.9 billion kWh, Brazil 530.7 billion kWh and 455.8 billion kWh, Germany at 526.6 billion kWh and 582.5 billion kWh, and Korea has the lowes production and consumption at 485.1 and 449.5, respectively.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the chart’s subject and give a clear overview that China leads both measures, while Korea is lowest. You also include many relevant figures and compare production with consumption. However, the response is under the required minimum: it contains 146 words, and the nine words copied from the task prompt are excluded from the count. Some details are inaccurate: Russia’s consumption is 1,038 billion kWh, not 1,036, and the overview’s claim that Korea had the lowest consumption overlooks Germany’s higher figure of 582.5. The comparisons are mostly a list rather than a selection of the most notable patterns. To strengthen the response, highlight the large gap between the top two countries and note that Germany is the exception where consumption exceeds production.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a coherent overall arrangement: an introduction, an overview, and two paragraphs presenting figures. The grouping of China and the United States separately from the remaining countries helps the reader follow the data. However, the final two paragraphs rely heavily on lists, so comparisons and relationships between figures are not always made explicit. Some linking is also mechanical or awkward: “On the other hand” does not introduce a clear contrast for the group of countries that follows, and “While” is incorrectly separated from the preceding sentence. Improve progression by grouping countries according to meaningful patterns—for example, the two leading producers, the middle-ranked countries, and Germany’s unusual consumption result—and use linking phrases only when they express a genuine relationship.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant chart vocabulary, including “production,” “consumption,” “accounted for,” and “respectively,” and the meaning of most figures is understandable. However, some word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural, such as “the bar char gives information,” “Korea experienced the less,” and “accumulated less production and consumption.” These choices make the description less precise, while spelling errors such as “lowes” and the inconsistent country name “Korea” also reduce control. Use standard reporting language such as “the bar chart compares,” “had the lowest figures,” and “generated/consumed.” Keep the units attached consistently to the values, and avoid using “experienced” for numerical production or consumption levels.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including an overview beginning “While” and a sentence using “whereas.” However, errors in sentence construction and verb patterns are frequent enough to make some statements difficult to process. For example, “While, Korea experienced the less production and consumption” is not a complete, correctly formed contrast, and “in US recorded for” lacks a clear subject and uses an incorrect verb pattern. The long sentence listing Russia, Japan, and India also has an unclear structure around “accounted for.” Practise forming complete clauses with an explicit subject and verb, and check articles, prepositions, and punctuation. For example: “The United States produced 4,099 billion kWh and consumed 3,866 billion kWh.”

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

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