Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-10-21

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 export earnings of five different product categories in 2015 vand 2016 measure in billion of dollars.

overall, petroleum products and engineered goods generated the highest export earning in the both years, whereas texttile earned the least in 2015. Most product categories experienced an increase in earning in 2016, while jems and jewellery showed slight decline.

In 2015, petroleum product earned approximately $60 billion, making them the leading export category . this figure rose slightly arround $63 billion in 2026.

Similarly, earnings from engineered goods increase significantly from about $57 billion in 2015 to approximately $62 billion in 2026.

In contrast, gems and jewellery generated around $44 billion in 2015, but their earning felt slightly to approximately $42billion in the following year. Agricultural products recorded relatively stable earning, rising marginaly about $32 billion to $33 billion.

Finally, textile had a lowest earning in 2015, at roughly $27 billion. However, this category experienced a noteciable

increase a approximately $33 in 2016.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the main pattern that petroleum products and engineered goods were the leading earners, and you note that most categories rose while gems and jewellery declined. These are relevant overview points. However, some details are inaccurate or unclear: textiles were the lowest category only in 2015, not across both years, and agricultural earnings rose from about $31 billion to $31.5 billion, rather than from $32 billion to $33 billion. The year “2026” is also given instead of 2016 in two comparisons. The response covers the categories, but the overview and supporting figures are not consistently precise, and the table’s percentage changes are not used. Report the key comparisons accurately and distinguish the small agricultural rise from the more substantial textile increase.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction, an overview, and paragraphs comparing the categories. Linking phrases such as “Similarly,” “In contrast,” and “Finally” help signal relationships between the figures, and the reader can generally follow the sequence. However, the progression is somewhat mechanical, with categories reported one after another rather than grouped more deliberately by similar trends or scale. Some references are also imprecise—for example, “this category” follows a discussion of agricultural products before textiles are introduced, which can make the comparison less immediate. Improve cohesion by grouping the two leading categories together and the smaller categories together, and use clear references and consistent paragraphing.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant task vocabulary, including “export earnings,” “generated,” “leading export category,” “stable,” and “decline,” so the meaning is generally understandable. However, the range and control are uneven, with repeated use of “earning” and several inaccurate or misspelled forms, such as “texttile,” “jems,” “arround,” “marginaly,” and “noteciable.” Some collocations are also unnatural: “their earning felt slightly” does not express a fall clearly, and “a lowest earning” is not idiomatic. Choose precise reporting verbs and check spelling and word forms carefully. For example, use “fell slightly” for the jewellery trend and “the lowest earnings” when describing textiles in 2015.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mixture of simple and more complex sentences, including a contrast clause in “In contrast, gems and jewellery … but their earning…,” and most relationships between ideas remain understandable. However, errors in verb forms, articles, agreement, and sentence construction recur. Examples include “engineered goods increase” instead of “increased,” “in the both years” instead of “in both years,” and “textile had a lowest earning.” The final sentence is incomplete or malformed at “a noteciable increase a approximately $33,” and punctuation and capitalisation are inconsistent after full stops. These errors sometimes make details harder to interpret. Practise accurate past-tense reporting and complete comparative sentence patterns, then proofread articles and sentence boundaries.

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