Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-10-12

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 ratio of production and consumption of electricity in 2014 in the top ten countries such as China, United states, Russia, Japan, India, Canada, Brazil, Germany, France and Korea, Rep.

Overall, the most noticeable feature is the highest rise of production and consumption of electricity in China. However, the least production and consumption is shown in Korea, Rep.

In detail, the maximum rise of electricity production and consumption was showed in China which was 5,398 and 5,322 billion respectively. Whereas, other countries such as Canada, France, Brazil, Germany and Korea, Rep. almost showed the equal increase which was 618.9 and 499.9 billion for Canada, 561.2 and 462.9 billion for France, 530.7 and 455.8 billion for Brazil, 526.6 and 582.5 billion for Germany. Lastly, 485.1 and 499.5 billion for Korea, Rep.

Subsequently, the other countries such as US, Russia, Japan and India showed consumption which was 871 and 698.8 billion in India, 936.2 and 856.7 billion in Japan, 1,057 and 1,038 billion in Russia. Also, among all US showed the maximum rise after China which was 4,099 and 3,866 billion.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the chart’s main extremes: China leads both production and consumption, while Korea has the lowest production. You also include several relevant figures, including China’s values and the United States’ second-place position. However, the overview is incomplete: it does not summarise the broad gap between the two leading countries and the rest, or note that production exceeds consumption in nearly every country. There are also factual errors: Korea’s consumption is 449.5, not 499.5, and Germany is an exception where consumption (582.5) exceeds production (526.6). The phrase “almost showed the equal increase” is unclear and does not accurately describe the comparisons. Select key patterns and report the figures precisely.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has a basic structure, with an introduction, an overview and two detail paragraphs, and the reader can generally follow the country-by-country information. However, progression within the detail paragraphs is not consistently logical: the first groups several countries together, then the next paragraph returns to the United States, Russia, Japan and India without a clear organising principle. Linking words such as “Whereas,” “Lastly” and “Subsequently” are used mechanically or do not clearly express the relationship between ideas. The overview also repeats the idea of the highest and lowest values rather than setting out a fuller comparison. Grouping countries by scale or by whether production exceeds consumption would make the organisation clearer.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant chart vocabulary, including “production,” “consumption,” “maximum” and “billion,” so the topic is clear. There is some variety in how you introduce information, but several choices are imprecise or unnatural for describing data. “Ratio” does not accurately describe the two measures, and “highest rise” or “maximum rise” suggests change over time, although the chart compares values in one year. “Equal increase” is also unclear, since the figures are not equal and do not show increases. These repeated collocation problems limit precision, even though the intended meaning is usually recoverable. Aim for straightforward terms such as “figure,” “level,” “amount” and “was higher than,” using them accurately.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mixture of sentence forms, including a relative clause in “China which was 5,398 and 5,322” and contrastive structures such as “However” and “Whereas.” Most of the information remains understandable, but errors in verb forms and sentence construction are noticeable. For example, “was showed” should be “was shown,” while “Whereas, other countries…” is a dependent clause presented as a sentence. The long sentence listing several countries and figures is also difficult to control, and the final paragraph’s “showed consumption which was” construction is awkward. Practise forming complete comparisons with consistent past-tense verbs, and use punctuation to separate lists from the main clause.

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