Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-11-03

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 of electricity in the top ten countries in 2014.

Overall, the leading countries for production and consumption of electricity are China and United States. While the others usage and production is significantly lower.

China is ranked first for production of electricity, with a number of 5.398 billions kWh. As a result, the consumption is also higher compared to the test of the countries, with 5.322 billions kWh. The second place it was given to United state, with a usage of energy of 3.866 and the production of 4.999.

Last placed were given to Germany and Korea, with significantly lower numbers. Germany usage and production was 10 times lower than China’s, with a production of 526,6 and consumption of 582,5. As well as Germany, Korea had a number 10 times lower than United States, 485.1 billions for production and 449.5 billions for consumption

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion6.0
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the chart’s subject and give a clear broad overview that China and the United States lead both measures. You also include several relevant figures, including China’s production and consumption and Germany’s higher consumption than production. However, coverage is partial: the response focuses mainly on the two leaders and the final-ranked countries, with little comparison of the middle-ranked nations. There is also a significant factual error: US production is reported as 4.999 rather than 4,099 billion kWh. The claim that Korea’s production is ten times lower than the United States’ is also inaccurate; it is closer to one-eighth. To strengthen the report, select a few accurate comparisons across the chart, including the notable German exception, and ensure every figure matches the data.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable overall arrangement: an introduction, an overview, and paragraphs describing the leading and lower-ranked countries. This makes the main direction of the report understandable. However, progression is limited because the body moves from China and the United States directly to Germany and Korea, leaving the other countries largely unconnected to the account. Some linking is also awkward or unclear, as in “As a result,” which suggests that China’s consumption follows from its production, and “As well as Germany,” which does not clearly establish the comparison. Organise the details into clearer groups, such as the top two, the middle countries, and the lowest figures, and use linking phrases to show comparisons rather than simply add information.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant chart vocabulary, including “production,” “consumption,” “ranked first,” and “significantly lower,” so the topic is generally clear. There is some repetition of “number” and “lower,” however, and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate or unnatural: “the test of the countries” appears to mean “the rest of the countries,” while “a number of 5.398 billions kWh” is not a natural way to report a figure. “Last placed were given to” is also an awkward expression. Use precise reporting language such as “stood at,” “recorded,” and “ranked last,” and vary comparisons with phrases such as “roughly half” or “slightly below.” These improvements would make the vocabulary more accurate and flexible.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt some sentence variety, including a contrast with “While” and a comparison using “As a result,” and the reader can usually follow the main points. However, control is inconsistent, and several sentence structures are faulty. “While the others usage and production is significantly lower” is an incomplete clause, while “The second place it was given to United state” has an incorrect construction. Agreement and number forms also need attention, as in “Germany usage and production was.” Punctuation and sentence boundaries are sometimes awkward, particularly in the final sentence, where the figures are added without a clear grammatical link. Practise complete clauses and straightforward comparison structures, checking subject–verb agreement and articles before adding more complex forms.

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