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 between 2015 and 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 | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0
The response covers all parts of the task by reporting the main features from both the bar chart and the table. However, there are numerous factual errors and misreadings of the data. For instance, the student states that 'petroleum and agricultural products were sold at the same rate of approximately 62 billion dollars', which is completely incorrect; petroleum was around 61 billion dollars, whereas agricultural products were around 31 billion dollars. Furthermore, the percentage change for agricultural products is misstated in the final paragraph as '0.185%' instead of 0.81%. While an overview is attempted, the confusion over the figures impacts the accuracy of the overall summary. These inaccuracies place the response in Band 5.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0
The essay is divided into logical paragraphs with an introduction, an overview, and separate body paragraphs for the chart and the table. This provides a clear overall structure. However, cohesive devices and referencing are sometimes awkward or inaccurate, such as starting the overview paragraph with 'In contrast' when no contrast has been established yet. Paragraphing is used sufficiently, but mechanical linking words prevent the progression from feeling entirely natural. This demonstrates the characteristics of Band 6.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, incorporating terms such as 'earnings', 'revenue', 'percentage change', and 'category'. However, there are noticeable lexical inaccuracies and awkward phrasing, such as 'sold at the same rate' instead of 'valued at' or 'earning', and 'sale rate'. Some data points contain errors that stem from vocabulary and number confusion. Although less common items are attempted, inaccuracies in word choice place this response at Band 5.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some control over grammar. Structures such as 'While in the table, textiles gained...' and 'In sharp contrast to the bar chart, the table has...' are attempted. However, there are grammatical inaccuracies and awkward syntactic structures throughout, such as 'Agricultural products again met almost the same percentage of sale rate with 30 billion dollars'. Errors are noticeable but do not completely impede communication, aligning well with Band 5 descriptors.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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