Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-09-27
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 value of one country’s exports in various categories such as (petroleum products, Engineered goods, Gems and jewellery, Agricultural products and textiles) in 2015 and 2016. The table compares the percentage change in each category of exports in 2015 and 2016.
Overall, it is clearly seen that petroleum was the dominant factor to earn the money from export, while textiles recorded the least amount earn by the export. Meanwhile, the change in the value of the textiles increases dramatically whereas the value of gems and jewellery declined . Agricultural products remain identical in both year.
In 2015, petroleum products recorded the highest in export, while there was a tiny change in engineered goods. By contrast, Gems and jewellery and textiles started to fell whereas agricultural products remain constant in the two years. Between the 2015 to 2016, the textiles recorded the highest change in values by 15.24%, while Gems and jewellery followed the opposite trend.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The student successfully identifies the main formats of the prompt, mentioning both the bar chart and the table with general categories. An overview is present, highlighting that petroleum generated the highest export earnings and textiles recorded the lowest. However, there are some inaccuracies in reporting the data. For instance, the student states that agricultural products remained identical in both years, whereas the chart shows a slight increase from 31 to 31.5 billion, and the table confirms a 0.81% change. Additionally, phrasing such as 'gems and jewellery and textiles started to fell' is factually confused regarding trends across the years. The response covers the main features but suffers from imprecise data reporting and minor misinterpretations of the visual information, placing it at a Band 6.0.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The text is arranged into three paragraphs, providing an introduction, an overview, and a body section. Logical progression is attempted, but transitions between ideas can be abrupt. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Overall', 'while', and 'meanwhile', though some referencing is slightly clumsy (e.g., 'amount earn by the export'). Paragraphing is somewhat basic, as the main data details are compressed into a single, somewhat disorganised body paragraph rather than being structured logically by category or year. This restricts the organizational score, but the overall message remains discernible, aligning with a Band 6.0.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common collocations and topic-related terms like 'dominant factor', 'export earnings', and 'percentage change'. However, there are noticeable word choice and morphological errors, such as 'least amount earn by the export' (earned) and 'started to fell' (fall). Vocabulary is sometimes repetitive ('record', 'change', 'values'). Despite these inaccuracies, communication is not impeded, and the range is sufficient to convey the main trends, satisfying the criteria for a Band 6.0.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The response includes a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as subordinate clauses ('while petroleum was the dominant factor...'). However, grammatical errors are frequent throughout the text. Examples include tense and form errors ('amount earn', 'started to fell', 'remain identical' instead of remained, 'in both year') and prepositions ('Between the 2015 to 2016'). While these errors do not completely obscure the meaning, they occur consistently and prevent the response from reaching a higher band. Control of grammar and punctuation is moderate, fitting a Band 5.5.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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