Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-09-30

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 graph illustrates the value of exports of five different categories in 2015 to 2016, while the table shows the proportion of changes in exports earnings between the two years.

Overall, petroleum products and engineered goods generated the highest income in both the years, whereas textiles had the lowest earnings in 2015. The most significant percentage increase was in textiles.

In 2015, petroleum products were worth approximately more than 60 billions, slight rise can be seen in 2016. Similarly, earnings from engineered goods grew from about 57 billions to 61 billions. By contrast, exports of textiles also increased by 7% from 25 billions to 32 billions.

According to table, textiles experienced the most substantial growth which is 15.24% as compared to agriculture products which is the lowest percentage change in values in both the years accounted for 0.81%. Thus, gems and jewellery was the only one which was decreased by 5.18%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The student covers all parts of the task by reporting the main features of the export data for both years and making relevant comparisons. An adequate overview is provided, highlighting the highest-earning categories and the most significant percentage increase. Key data points are generally accurate, such as noting that petroleum products and engineered goods generated the highest income, and correctly citing the percentage changes for textiles and gems and jewellery from the table. However, there are some minor inaccuracies or vague expressions when reporting absolute values, such as 'approximately more than 60 billions' and 'from 25 billions to 32 billions' for textiles (which actually rose from 26 to 31.5 billions). Despite these minor data discrepancies, the response successfully addresses the prompts and presents a clear summary.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response is arranged coherently with a logical overall progression. It begins with a clear introductory paraphrase, followed by an overarching summary paragraph, and subsequently breaks down specific details into separate body paragraphs. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate general trends from specific data points. Cohesive devices are employed to guide the reader through the data, such as 'Overall', 'Similarly', 'By contrast', and 'Thus'. However, cohesion is occasionally mechanical or slightly awkward, as seen in phrases like 'According to table, textiles experienced the most substantial growth which is 15.24% as compared to agriculture products which is the lowest percentage change'. Referencing and logical flow remain clear enough to ensure the reader can follow the comparisons easily.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common items such as 'proportion of changes', 'significant percentage increase', and 'substantial growth'. There are attempts to vary descriptive language for trends and comparisons. However, vocabulary control is inconsistent. There are some minor lexical inaccuracies and awkward phrasing, such as 'proportion of changes in exports earnings' (instead of export earnings) and 'agriculture products' (instead of agricultural products). Furthermore, repetition of basic terms like 'earnings', 'increase', and 'billions' occurs. While these errors do not impede communication, they prevent the lexical score from reaching higher bands.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, incorporating subordinate clauses and comparative structures (e.g., 'while the table shows...', 'as compared to agriculture products which is...'). There is a reasonable variety of sentence forms. However, grammatical accuracy is inconsistent. Notable errors include missing units or prepositions ('approximately more than 60 billions', 'According to table'), tense inconsistency in relative clauses ('which is 15.24%'), and awkward syntax in 'Thus, gems and jewellery was the only one which was decreased by 5.18%' (where 'decreased' should be active or phrased as 'the only category that experienced a decrease'). These errors occasionally cause slight strain but do not impede overall communication.

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