Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)

The bar chart illustrate the export earnings of a country across five product categories in 2015 and 2016, measured in billions of US dollars, While the table charts depicts that the percentage change in export values for each category between the two years.

Overall, petroleum products generated the highest revenue in both years, whereas textiles experienced the most significant percentage increase. Conversely, gems and jewellary was the only category that suffered a decline in export earnings over the period.

In 2015, petroleum products topped the export market at $60 billion, rising slightly to approximately$63 billionin 2016, Which represented a 3% growth rate. Engineered goods were the second largest contributor growing from $57 billion to $62 billion, marked by an 8.5% increase.

Regarding the remaining categories, textile saw the sharpest growth of 15.24%, rising from $25 billion in 2015 to over $30 billion in 2016. Agriculture products also expanded, moving up by 0.81% from roughly $31 billion to just over $31 billion. In contrast, export revenue from gems and jewellery dropped by 5.18%, falling from $42 billion to $40 billion in 2016.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The student successfully addresses all parts of the task by providing a clear summary of the main features from both the bar chart and the table. An effective overview is included, highlighting key trends such as petroleum products generating the highest revenue, textiles showing the greatest percentage increase, and gems and jewellery being the only category to decline. Key data points are selected and reported accurately, such as petroleum products rising to approximately $63 billion and engineered goods growing to $62 billion. Comparisons are made appropriately throughout the response. The figures cited generally align well with the provided visual data, demonstrating a solid understanding of the graphic information. Overall, this performance satisfies the requirements for a strong band score.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response is logically organized with a clear overall progression. It begins with an introductory paragraph paraphrasing the prompt, followed by a distinct overview paragraph, and then body paragraphs detailing specific categories. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different parts of the data. Cohesive devices such as 'Overall', 'Conversely', and 'In contrast' are employed effectively to signal transitions between ideas and categories. However, there are minor structural slip-ups in sentence linkage, such as the fragment 'While the table charts depicts that...' in the opening sentence, which slightly affects the fluency of cohesion. Nevertheless, the relationships between ideas remain clear throughout the text.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The student demonstrates a sufficient range of vocabulary to allow for flexibility and precision. Less common items and phrases such as 'generated the highest revenue', 'most significant percentage increase', and 'second largest contributor' are used appropriately. There are occasional lexical and spelling inaccuracies, such as 'jewellary' instead of 'jewellery' and a minor error in word form ('textile saw' instead of 'textiles saw'). However, these errors do not impede communication, and the vocabulary deployed is generally well-suited for an Academic Task 1 response, showing an awareness of appropriate reporting language.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The response displays a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, including relative clauses and subordinate clauses (e.g., 'which represented a 3% growth rate'). There are several grammatical slips and punctuation errors, notably the fused sentence structure in the first sentence ('...in 2015 and 2016, measured in billions of US dollars, While the table charts depicts...'), missing capitalization or incorrect spacing ('approximately$63 billionin'), and relative clause punctuation issues ('...in 2016, Which represented...'). Despite these errors, the majority of simple sentences are error-free, and complex structures are attempted with reasonable control, meaning communication is never impeded.

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