Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-10-19

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 illustrates the export value of one country in several categories over two years, while the table represents the average change in individual export categories between 2016 and 2015.

Overall, petroleum products earned the most export revenue in both years, while textiles had the lowest earnings in 2015. In 2016, export earnings increased in all categories except gems and jewellery, with textiles experiencing the highest rise (15.24%).

The export revenue of petroleum products had risen from $ 61 billion to $ 63 billion in 2016. Engineered goods experienced an increase from $ 56 billion to around 62 billion $ between the two years. Similarly, Textiles also saw a significant rise of 7 billion $. In contrast, Gems and jewellery and agricultural products both experienced a fall of approximately 1 billion $.

In percentage change, petroleum and agricultural products slightly increased over the two years. While engineered goods and textiles potentially increased by 8.5% and 15.24%. Finally, gems and jewellery recorded a fall of 5.18% from 2015 to 2016.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You identify the main pattern accurately: petroleum products were the highest-earning category in both years, and textiles had the strongest percentage growth, while gems and jewellery declined. Most figures are also reported plausibly, including petroleum’s rise from $61 billion to $63 billion and the percentage changes for textiles and gems. However, there is an important factual error: agricultural exports rose slightly, from about $31 billion to $31.5 billion, rather than falling by approximately $1 billion. The overview also says textiles were lowest only in 2015, but does not clearly identify that they rose to roughly the same level as agricultural products in 2016. The response covers the task and selects relevant features, but some comparisons need more precise reporting.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction, an overview, and two paragraphs of supporting details. This makes the main message easy to follow, and transitions such as “Overall,” “Similarly,” and “In contrast” help signal relationships. However, the final paragraph partly repeats information already given in the overview and earlier details, while the distinction between the chart’s dollar values and the table’s percentage changes could be organised more cleanly. “While engineered goods and textiles potentially increased…” is also an incomplete sentence, which interrupts the flow. Grouping the categories by rising versus falling earnings, and keeping each comparison together with its relevant figures, would create smoother progression and less repetition.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

You use an adequate range of task-appropriate vocabulary, including “export revenue,” “experienced an increase,” “significant rise,” and “recorded a fall.” These choices communicate the main trends, and the response varies its wording rather than relying entirely on “increase” and “decrease.” Some expressions are imprecise or unnatural, however. “Average change” does not accurately describe the table, which gives percentage changes by category, and “potentially increased” suggests uncertainty that is not present in the data. “Textiles also saw a significant rise of 7 billion $” is understandable but awkwardly phrased. More precise collocations for describing figures and trends would improve flexibility and accuracy while preserving the clear meaning.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and more complex forms, including the overview sentence beginning “In 2016” and the contrast structure “In contrast, Gems and jewellery…”. Most sentences remain understandable, but some grammatical choices reduce accuracy. “While engineered goods and textiles potentially increased by 8.5% and 15.24%” is a dependent clause without a main clause; it should be joined to the preceding sentence or rewritten as a complete sentence. The past perfect in “had risen” is unnecessary when describing a straightforward change between two years; simple past (“rose”) is more suitable. There are also inconsistent capitalisation and punctuation choices, such as capitalising “Textiles” and “Gems” mid-sentence. Greater control of sentence completion and consistent tense would strengthen accuracy.

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