Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-09-25
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 5.5)
The bar chart illustrates the earnings in exports of a country in different categories from 2015 to 2016. In contrast, the table shows the percentage change in values of exports in 2015 as compared to 2016.
Overall, it can be clearly seen that the revenue of petroleum and engineered products was maximum and the revenue of textiles and agricultural products was minimum in the bar chart after a period of change. While in the table, textiles gained the highest percentage change and agricultural products occupied the lowest percentage change in values.
First, in the bar chart, petroleum and agricultural products were sold at the same rate of approximately 62 billion dollars in both years 2015 and 2016. Petroleum products were sold at the rate of 60 billion dollars in 2015 and almost 58 billion dollars in 2016. Gems and jewellery had earnings of 40 billion dollars in 2016 and 42 billion dollars in 2015. Agricultural products again met almost the same percentage of sale rate with 30 billion dollars. Textiles' earning was near 26 billion dollars in 2015 and 31 billion dollars in 2016.
In sharp contrast to the bar chart, the table has textiles with the highest percentage change of 15.24%. Engineered products came second with 8.5% and gems and jewellery ranked third with 5.18%. Petroleum products met only 3% change in values. Agriculture products stood at the last position with 0.185% change in its values.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0
The student attempts to address all parts of the prompt by describing both the bar chart and the table. However, there are significant data inaccuracies and factual contradictions. For instance, the writer states that 'petroleum and agricultural products were sold at the same rate of approximately 62 billion dollars', which is factually incorrect according to the visual data (petroleum was around 61-63 billion, while agricultural products were around 31 billion). Furthermore, the percentage change for agricultural products is misquoted in the text as '0.185%' instead of the actual '0.81%'. The overview is somewhat confused, claiming minimums and maximums incorrectly. While the main features are touched upon, the lack of data accuracy prevents the response from achieving a higher band.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0
The response is divided into logical paragraphs, beginning with an introduction, followed by an overview, and then separate paragraphs detailing the bar chart and the table. Transitional phrases like 'In contrast', 'Overall', and 'First' are employed to guide the reader. However, referencing and cohesion occasionally falter, such as the awkward opening of the second paragraph 'In contrast, the table shows...', which misuses a contrast marker given that the table complements rather than contrasts the chart. Paragraphing is adequate, but the overall progression of ideas is slightly hindered by the confusion within the body paragraphs.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary for the task, using terms such as 'earnings in exports', 'percentage change', and 'ranked third'. However, there is a reliance on repetitive phrasing like 'were sold at the rate of' and 'earnings of'. Furthermore, there are awkward word choices and collocation issues, such as 'sale rate' instead of 'export value' or 'sales figure'. Some inaccuracies in data transcription also reflect poorly on lexical precision, though the vocabulary used is generally sufficient to communicate the basic intent of the response.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, using subordinate clauses such as 'While in the table, textiles gained...' and 'As compared to 2016'. There are several grammatical errors and awkward phrasings throughout, including 'revenue of petroleum and engineered products was maximum' and 'Agricultural products again met almost the same percentage of sale rate'. Punctuation is generally acceptable, and while errors are frequent, they rarely completely impede the reader's understanding of the intended meaning, placing this firmly in the Band 5 to 6 range.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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