Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-09-28
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 compares the value of one country's exports in various categories, and the table provides data on change in percentage in each category of exports between 2015 and 2016.
Overall, the export of petroleum products and engineered goods accounted for higher earnings in 2016, while in 2015 petroleum products were at higher. In contrast, textiles and gems and jewelry were generated lowest earnings with slight fluctuation in both years from the other exports. The figure for textiles were reached at peak, but the agricultural products were at least.
Regarding these export earnings, the petroleum products contributed 61 billion in 2015 with little variation about 62 billion in 2016. Although the engineered goods and textiles shared the significant earings in 2016 approximately 61 billion and 31 billion, the figure for agriculture products remained constant at about 31 billion. Furthermore, 41 billion in 2015 with marginal declined 40 billion in 2016 accounts for gems and jewelry in the total export earnings.
In contrast, the agriculture products take up 0.18% of the total change in earnings, while rising to 3% for petroleum products, climbing to 5.18% for gems and jewelry, engineered goods shared the largest proportion about 8.5%. A notable percentage is observed for textiles approximately 15.24%.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The student attempts to cover all parts of the prompt by describing both the bar chart and the table. An overview is provided, noting that petroleum products and engineered goods accounted for higher earnings. However, the response contains several data inaccuracies and confusions when reporting specific figures. For example, the student states that gems and jewellery were '41 billion in 2015 with marginal declined 40 billion in 2016', whereas the chart shows 43 billion in 2015 decreasing to 41 in 2016. Furthermore, the table data is mixed up significantly in the final paragraph, where agricultural products are incorrectly said to take up '0.18%' instead of 0.81%. These reporting errors and slightly confusing overviews place the response at Band 5.5.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The response is divided into four paragraphs, following a logical layout with an introduction, overview, chart details, and table details. Cohesive devices are attempted using phrases such as 'Overall', 'In contrast', and 'Furthermore'. However, referencing and cohesion are sometimes faulty or mechanical, such as the abrupt transition into the table statistics in the final paragraph ('In contrast, the agriculture products take up...'). Paragraphing is present and helps structure the essay, but overall progression is occasionally hindered by clunky phrasing and confusing sentence construction, justifying a Band 6.0.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for describing graphical data, including terms such as 'accounted for', 'fluctuation', 'proportion', and 'marginal declined'. However, there are notable word choice and collocation errors throughout, such as 'were generated lowest earnings' instead of 'generated the lowest earnings', 'marginal declined' instead of 'marginal decline', and confusing 'agriculture products' statistics. Spelling is generally accurate, but awkward vocabulary choices and repetitive structures limit the score to a Band 5.5.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, incorporating subordinate clauses using 'although' and 'while'. However, grammatical accuracy is inconsistent. There are several noticeable errors, including subject-verb agreement issues ('The figure for textiles were reached at peak', 'the agricultural products were at least'), missing prepositions, and awkward passive/active constructions ('were generated lowest earnings'). Despite these frequent errors, meaning is generally conveyed, aligning with the Band 5.5 descriptors.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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