Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-09-17
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 6.5)
The bar chart and the table compare the cost (in billion dollars) of exports of a country in various categories such as petroleum products, engineered goods, gems and jewellery, agricultural products and textiles in 2015 and 2016 and the proportion of change in each catergory in terms of export.
Overall, the export earnings of the latter year is higher in all the provided categories, except for the gems and jewellery.The petroleum products reported the maximum export earnings in the given period, whereas for textiles, the export earnings were recorded the lowest. However, the maximum change in value of export was recorded for the textiles.
Turning to details, the petroleum products and the engineered goods were the major contributors for export earnings, which rose considerably from 61 to 63 billion dollars, and 57 to 62 billion dollars from 2015 to 2016, respectively. However, the export profit from gems and jewellery declined substantially from 43 to 41 billion dollars in the given period.
Moving further, the agricultural goods showed an increase from 62 to almost 63 billion dollars and and the textiles climbed from 26 to 32 billion dollars from 2015 to 2016. Moreover, the textiles reported a dramatic surge in values by 15.24%, whereas the gems and jewellery declined by 5.18%. However, the agricultural products, petroleum products and the engineered goods climbed by 0.81%, 35 and 8.5%, respectively.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 7.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 7.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 6.0 |
| Overall | 6.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5
The candidate provides a clear overview and covers all the main features of the visual data, successfully selecting and comparing key data points across the categories. For instance, the response correctly identifies that petroleum products reported the maximum export earnings while textiles had the lowest in 2015, and highlights the significant percentage change in textiles. However, there are a few data inaccuracies in the body paragraphs: the student mistakenly states that agricultural goods showed an increase from 62 to almost 63 billion dollars, whereas the chart shows they increased from 31 to 31.5 billion dollars. Furthermore, there is a typographical or misread data error in the final paragraph where petroleum products are said to have climbed by '35' instead of 3% (referring to the table). Despite these minor errors, the task is well-addressed with a clear summary of trends and comparative figures, meeting the requirements for Band 6.5 or a solid Band 6.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0
The response is coherently arranged with a logical progression of ideas from the introduction to the overview and detailed body paragraphs. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different aspects of the visual data (e.g., 'Turning to details' and 'Moving further'). Cohesive devices are generally used effectively, such as 'whereas', 'however', and 'moreover'. However, there are occasional minor mechanical errors in cohesion and referencing, such as missing a space in 'jewellery.The petroleum' and slight repetitiveness in transitional phrases. Overall, the organizational structure is clear and guides the reader smoothly through the comparison of the charts, fulfilling the Band 7 descriptors.
Lexical Resource — Band 7.0
The student demonstrates a sufficient range of vocabulary for the task, successfully employing terms related to economic data and trends such as 'export earnings', 'contributors', 'declined substantially', and 'dramatic surge'. Less common lexical items are attempted with some awareness of style and collocation, although there is a spelling error ('catergory') in the opening paragraph. Word choice is generally appropriate, though occasional inaccuracies occur (such as using 'cost' instead of 'value' or 'earnings' in the first sentence). The vocabulary is flexible enough to allow precise descriptions of increases and decreases, aligning well with the Band 7 criteria.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0
The writer uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, incorporating relative clauses and comparative structures effectively (e.g., 'which rose considerably from 61 to 63 billion dollars'). There are several grammatical and mechanical errors present, such as 'the export earnings of the latter year is higher' (agreement error), 'and and the textiles climbed' (repeated word), and missing percentage signs or misread numbers ('35' instead of '3%'). Despite these errors, they rarely impede communication, and the majority of sentences demonstrate good control of grammar and punctuation, fitting comfortably into the Band 6 descriptor.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.