Band 4.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.0 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-10-11

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 4.0)

The chart illustrates exports revenue of a country across five different categories in 2015 and 2016.Meanwhile, The table provides information of percentage difference in each sector of exports for both years.

Overall, for both the years in the chart petroleum products and engineered goods were accounted for most revenue, while textile and agriculture products made up least.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 3.0

The response identifies the chart’s subject and gives a broad overview, noting that petroleum products and engineered goods earned the most and that textiles and agricultural products were among the lowest. However, it does not report any figures or describe the main changes between 2015 and 2016, such as the rise in textiles or the fall in gems and jewellery. The overview also says “for both the years” without distinguishing the categories’ different movements. Most importantly, the response is substantially below the required 150 words, leaving the task largely incomplete. To improve, include a clear overview of the key trends and support it with selected comparisons and accurate values from both the chart and table.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

The response has a basic, recognisable structure: an introductory sentence is followed by an overview beginning with “Overall.” This gives the limited information a simple progression. However, there are only two sentences, so there is no developed organisation of the data into meaningful comparisons or supporting details. The transition “Meanwhile” does not clearly express the relationship between the chart and table, and the capitalisation after the full stop in “2016.Meanwhile, The table” disrupts the flow. Build separate paragraphs for the introduction, overview and key details, then group related categories and use linking expressions to show contrasts and changes clearly.

Lexical Resource: Band 4.5

The response uses some relevant task vocabulary, including “exports,” “categories,” “percentage difference” and “revenue,” and the meaning is generally understandable. However, the range is narrow and several expressions are imprecise or unnatural: “exports revenue” would be better expressed as “export earnings,” while “percentage difference” does not accurately convey the table’s year-on-year percentage change. “Textile and agriculture products” also uses category labels imprecisely. Because the response is very short, it does not demonstrate the range of vocabulary needed to describe rises, falls and comparisons. Use precise terms such as “increased,” “declined,” “remained stable” and “accounted for,” while varying language naturally.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

The response communicates its basic meaning using simple sentence forms, but grammatical control is uneven. In “2016.Meanwhile,” a space is missing after the full stop, and “The” is incorrectly capitalised after the comma. The phrase “the chart petroleum products and engineered goods were accounted for most revenue” has a faulty passive construction; write, for example, “petroleum products and engineered goods accounted for the highest export earnings.” The sentence beginning “Overall” also has an awkward time reference, “for both the years,” and the final clause lacks a clear article or plural form. Use a wider mix of accurate sentence structures and check punctuation, articles and verb patterns.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.