Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 4.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-08-17
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 4.5)
The bar graph illustrates the information regarding the intake of total milk as well as low fat milk in united states from 1970 to 2015 .
At the first glance , it is evident that a significant amount of whole milk was intake by the peoples of united states in year 1970 , and value was accounted at 25 gallons , which is then decline to by 5 gallons after one decade . Afterthat , this value decreasing rapidly until it reach the amount of 10 in year 2000. Thereafter , this consuption of whole milk was still decreasing but moderately , in year 2010 and 2015 intake of whole milk was approximately 8 and 6 , respectively .
Shifting attention towards the rest of information , it is apparent that in first given year , the consuption of low fat milk by united citizens was roughly 6 but this amount increase sharply till 1990 and value being 10 in 1980 and about 14 in 1990 . Interestingly , this value remains constant for 2 decades and value was noticed at 14 gallons after which a negligible decrease can be witnessed and consuption was nearly 13 gallons .
Overall , it is clearly seen that in initial given year the consuption of whole milk was maximum but in last given year the intake of low fat milk was maximum .
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 2.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 4.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 2.0
The response fails to address the specific task provided. The instructions and prompt refer to a chart showing export values in 2015 and 2016, yet the student has written a report about milk consumption from 1970 to 2015. Because the content is entirely irrelevant to the provided data, the response cannot be assessed as a successful completion of the task. While the student attempts to summarise trends, the information provided does not match the prompt at all. Consequently, the response is off-topic, which significantly impacts the score for this criterion.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0
The response is organised into logical paragraphs with an introduction, body paragraphs, and an overview. There is a clear attempt to use cohesive devices such as 'At the first glance', 'Afterthat', 'Thereafter', and 'Overall'. However, the logical progression is hindered by the fact that the content is unrelated to the prompt. The use of linking words is somewhat mechanical, and the referencing is occasionally unclear due to grammatical errors. Despite the irrelevance of the data, the structure itself follows a standard IELTS report format.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The vocabulary range is limited and repetitive. The student uses basic terms like 'intake', 'value', 'amount', and 'consuption' (spelled incorrectly throughout). There are frequent errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'intake of total milk' instead of 'consumption' and 'peoples of united states'. The student attempts to describe trends with words like 'decline', 'decreasing', and 'sharply', but the overall lexical control is weak. The spelling errors, particularly 'consuption' and 'Afterthat', are noticeable and detract from the quality of the writing.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that impede clarity. Issues include missing articles ('in united states', 'in year 1970'), incorrect verb forms ('was intake', 'value being 10'), and subject-verb agreement errors. Punctuation is also inconsistent, with spaces placed before commas. While the meaning is generally understandable, the high frequency of basic grammatical errors prevents the response from reaching a higher band. The sentence structures are often clunky and lack the flexibility required for higher scores.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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