Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-09-14

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 6.5)

The chart illustrates the value of one country's exports during 2015 and 2016 in five categories: petroleum products, engineered goods, gems and jewellery, agricultural products and textiles, while the table shows the percentage change in each category over the period.

Overall, petroleum products and engineered goods generated the highest export earnings among all five categories in both years. Gems and jewellery had the second largest percentage followed by agricultural products and textiles which had the smallest proportions over the two years. Textiles had the largest percentage change in values over the two years while agricultural products varied much less over the same period.

Textiles experienced a significant increase of 15.24% between 2015 and 2016. Similarly, engineered goods rose over the period with a change of 8.5%.

In contrast, gems and jewellery experienced a decline of 5.18% in the same period. Petroleum products increased slightly from a percentage of 61% in 2015 to 64% in 2016 with a change of 3%. Agricultural products, however, remained almost stable with a change of 0.81%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response covers all parts of the task well, providing an overview of the export values in 2015 and 2016 across five categories while accurately reporting the percentage changes from the table. Main features are clearly selected and highlighted, such as petroleum products and engineered goods generating the highest export earnings, and textiles experiencing the largest percentage change. Comparisons are effectively made throughout the text, for instance contrasting the significant increase in textiles with the stability of agricultural products. The data is generally well-selected and supported, though there is a minor misinterpretation regarding petroleum products, where the student refers to 61% and 64% as percentages of the total export value rather than specific category values or export volumes. However, this does not detract significantly from an otherwise well-developed response that clearly fulfills the requirements of Task 1.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The response exhibits a clear logical organization and progression throughout. It opens with a well-structured introductory paragraph that paraphrases the prompt effectively. An overview paragraph follows logically, capturing the main trends and dominant categories before moving into detailed body paragraphs that group specific data points. Cohesive devices are used appropriately to guide the reader through comparisons and contrasts, as seen with phrases like "In contrast," "Similarly," and "however." Paragraphing is used sufficiently and appropriately, with each paragraph serving a distinct functional purpose in summarizing the visual data. Referencing is generally clear, contributing to an overall coherent and easy-to-follow text.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates a sufficient range of vocabulary for the task, allowing for flexibility and precision when describing data trends. Less common lexical items and phrases such as "generated the highest export earnings," "experienced a significant increase," and "remained almost stable" are used effectively with a good awareness of academic style and collocation. Word choices are generally appropriate, though there are occasional minor inaccuracies in how figures or proportions are described, such as "second largest percentage." Overall, the lexical range is adequate to convey the information clearly and accurately without communication being impeded.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

The response demonstrates a good mix of simple and complex sentence structures, including subordinate clauses and comparative constructions, such as in the opening sentence ("The chart illustrates... while the table shows..."). There is good control over grammar and punctuation, with frequent error-free sentences throughout the text. While minor slips occur—such as slight awkwardness in phrasing numerical data like "with a change of 3%"—these errors do not impede communication. The overall grammatical control aligns well with the descriptors for Band 7, reflecting a reliable command of sentence forms.

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