Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-10-08

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 in billion dollars of a country’s exports in various categories during 2015 and 2016 and the table compares the percentage change in each category of exports in 2016 with 2015.

Overall it is evident that, petroleum and engineered products earning was by far highest in both years among all.However, export earnings of gems and jewellery decrased whereas of textile goods increased in latter year.

In export earnings of petroleum and engineered goods increased from 60 and around 56 billion dollars in 2015 to around 62 and 61 billion dollars in 2016. Gems and jewellery earnings decreased from around 42 billion dollars in 2015 to 40 billion dollars in 2016 as compared to textile earnings which increased from around 25 to approximately 31 billion dollars.

Interestingly, export earnings of agriculture products remained releatively constant in both years, at around 31 billion dollars.

If we talk about change in percentage value from 2015 to 2016, highest increased occured in textiles centre,at 15.24% followed by engineered and, gems and jewellery products, at 8.5% and 5.18% respectively. Only 3% and 0.81% increased occured in petroleuma nd agriculture products.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You cover both the chart and the table, and your overview identifies the leading export categories and the contrasting movement in gems and textiles. Most figures and trends are broadly accurate: petroleum and engineered goods are highest, gems decline, and textiles rise most strongly. However, the overview omits the near-stability of agricultural products, which appears later without being integrated into the main summary. Some comparisons are also imprecise: the chart shows petroleum at about $61 billion and engineered goods at $57 billion in 2015, rather than $60 billion and $56 billion, though these are small differences. The table’s 5.18% for gems is described as an increase, despite the decline. Make the direction of every percentage change explicit and select the key features more consistently.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and paragraphs describing the figures and percentage changes. This gives the reader a generally coherent route through the information. Some linking is effective, as in the contrast between gems and textiles, but connections are occasionally awkward or unclear. For example, “as compared to textile earnings” makes the comparison harder to follow, and “If we talk about change in percentage value” is a conversational transition rather than a concise report-style link. The overview also does not preview the stable agricultural figures discussed later. Grouping the main chart trends together and then reporting the table changes in a clearly ordered sentence would improve progression and make cohesion less mechanical.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant task vocabulary, including “export earnings,” “percentage change,” “decreased,” and “remained constant,” so the main information is usually understandable. There is some variety in how you describe movement, but several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural, such as “petroleum and engineered products earning,” “highest increased,” and “textiles centre.” Spelling errors—including “decrased,” “releatively,” “occured,” and “petroleuma”—also reduce precision. Aim for standard chart-reporting phrases such as “earnings from petroleum products,” “the largest increase,” and “textiles.” More accurate word forms and collocations would make your descriptions clearer and more natural.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a contrast with “whereas” and a comparison introduced by “as compared to.” The overall meaning is generally recoverable, but errors in sentence construction and punctuation are noticeable. For example, “petroleum and engineered products earning was by far highest” has an unclear subject and faulty agreement, while “In export earnings of petroleum and engineered goods increased” lacks a grammatical opening. There are also missing spaces after full stops and commas, and the final sentence has an awkward structure around “Only 3% and 0.81% increased occurred.” Build complete sentences with a clear subject and verb, and check articles, agreement, and punctuation when editing.

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