Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-10-14
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 given bar chart shows information about the value of a country's exports during the years 2015 and 2016. It consists data of petroleum products, engineered goods, jewellery, agricultural products and textiles. The 2015 data is indicated by darker shade where as 2016 is a bit lighter. The vertical line indicates value in ten billions.
From the bar chart it is clear that the county's major export revenue comes from petroleum products. In the year 2015, the export value was a little above 60 billion where as in 2016 the value was closer to 65 billion. It is not considered a great jump but still the export has been better than the previous year. In comparison to this, the next item i.e. engineered goods has had a way better year in export than in 2015. The the jump in export value is well indicated by the bar. Gems and Jewellery however has not been at the par of export value of 2015 in the latter year. The agricultural products have not improvements in 2016 and the value is quite similar to the year before. Textiles is also at the same value of export as agricultural products in 2016.
From this bar chart it looks like textiles has had the best year in 2016 with 15.24% increase in export value. The export value growth of the second in line is nearly half of that of textiles i.e. 8.5% which is engineered goods. Then petroleum products also has had a reasonable growth of 3%. Export value growth of agricultural products and jewellery has not been good. In fact, gems and jewellery has had a worse year in terms of growth because the value has actually decreased by nearly 5%.
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
You identify several important patterns: petroleum products are the largest export, textiles show the strongest percentage growth, and gems and jewellery decline. You also compare the two years and include relevant percentages. However, some figures and descriptions are inaccurate: petroleum rises from about $61 billion to $63 billion, not to nearly $65 billion, and agricultural exports increase slightly rather than showing no improvement. The statement that textiles and agriculture have the same 2016 value is broadly supported, but the response gives little precise comparison of the category values overall. The overview is present but could be clearer and more balanced by summarising both the highest and lowest values as well as the main changes.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The response has a recognisable structure, moving from an introduction to comparisons of the chart and then to percentage changes. Paragraphing helps separate these functions, and phrases such as “In comparison to this” and “In fact” signal relationships between ideas. However, progression within the middle paragraph is sometimes loose: the discussion moves from petroleum to engineered goods, then gems, agriculture and textiles without consistently anchoring each comparison in figures. Some linking is repetitive, particularly the repeated use of “In the year” and “From the bar chart.” Organise the body more deliberately—for example, group the highest-value categories together, then discuss the lower-value categories and their changes—to make the comparisons easier to follow.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
You use relevant chart vocabulary, including “export value,” “increase,” “decreased,” and “growth,” and the reader can generally understand the trends you describe. There is some variation in phrasing, such as “a little above 60 billion” and “nearly 5%.” However, several expressions are imprecise or unnatural for a formal data report: “has had a way better year,” “not been at the par,” and “the second in line” sound conversational or awkward. “The vertical line indicates value in ten billions” is also unclear. Aim for precise reporting language and use “percentage change” consistently when discussing the table. Check spelling and capitalisation in “county’s” and “Jewellery” as well.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
You attempt a mixture of simple and longer sentences, including clauses introduced by “whereas,” “however,” and “because,” and most of the main trends remain understandable. Some grammatical errors nevertheless recur. For example, “It consists data of” is missing a preposition, while “The the jump” contains a repeated article. “The agricultural products have not improvements” has an incorrect verb pattern, and “textiles has” does not agree in number. There are also awkward sentence constructions, such as “The export value growth of the second in line is nearly half of that of textiles.” Review verb agreement, articles, and the structure of comparisons, and proofread for repeated words and punctuation.
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