Band 8.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 8.0 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-07-28
IELTS Writing Task 1 question
The chart below shows the value of one country’s exports in various categories during 2015 and 2016. The table shows the percentage change in each category of exports in 2016 compared with 2015.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
Student answer (Band 8.0)
The charts give information about export and changes in values of different categories. The bar chart compares earning from exports of different product categories of a country in 2015 and 2016, while the table represents percentage change in each product category.
Overall, there has been a slight increase in the earnings from majority of the categories except from gems and jewellery. Petroleum products have dominated the country's export, while textiles have recorded the lowest figures.
Petroleum products have registered the highest earnings from exports in the year 2015 ($61 billion) and 2016 ($62 billion), with a slight rise of 3%. Engineered goods experienced a significant rise of 8.5% to $61 billion in 2016 from $55 billion in export income. Textiles was recorded at $31 billion of export earning, exceeding the corresponding figure in the previous year by highest percentage increase of 15.24%. Agricultural goods reported the lowest percentage increase of 0.81%, reporting $ 32 billion of export earnings.
Conversely, gems and jewellery was the only category that reported a decline in the percentage value of 5.18%. In 2015, it had $42 billion of earning and fell to $41 billion of export earnings in 2016.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 8.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 8.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 7.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 7.5 |
| Overall | 8.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 8.0
The response effectively addresses all parts of the task. You have successfully identified the main features, such as the dominance of petroleum products and the decline in gems and jewellery, while providing accurate data comparisons between 2015 and 2016. The overview is clear and highlights the general trend of growth across most categories. To reach a higher band, ensure that all data points are presented with complete accuracy; for instance, you mentioned textiles had the 'highest percentage increase of 15.24%', which is correct, but ensure that all comparisons are explicitly linked to the provided table and chart to avoid any ambiguity.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 8.0
The response is logically organized with a clear introduction, overview, and body paragraphs that group information by category trends. Cohesive devices such as 'Conversely', 'while', and 'in the year 2015' are used effectively to guide the reader. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the general trends from the specific data analysis. The progression of ideas is smooth, and the information is easy to follow. To improve, you could vary your cohesive devices slightly more to avoid repetitive sentence structures when introducing new data points.
Lexical Resource — Band 7.5
You demonstrate a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey information with precision, using terms like 'dominated', 'registered', 'exceeding', and 'decline'. The use of topic-specific vocabulary related to exports is accurate. There are no significant spelling or word-choice errors that impede communication. To move into the higher bands, try to incorporate more sophisticated collocations or less common lexical items to describe trends, such as 'marginal increase' instead of 'slight rise' or 'witnessed a contraction' instead of 'reported a decline'.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 7.5
The response displays a good mix of simple and complex sentence structures. Most sentences are error-free, and your control over punctuation is generally sound. There are a few minor slips, such as 'Textiles was recorded' (should be 'were recorded' to match the plural noun) and 'the highest percentage increase' (which could be more naturally phrased). However, these errors are infrequent and do not interfere with the clarity of your report. You have a solid grasp of grammar, and your ability to handle numerical data within complex sentences is commendable.
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