Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-10-22

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 ILLUSTRATES THE VALUE OF ONE COUNTRY'S EXPORTS EARNINGS IN VARIOUS CATEGORIES SUCH AS PETROLEUM PRODUCTS, ENGINEERED GOODS, GEMS AND JEWELLERY, AGRICULTURE PRODUCTS AND TEXTILES WHEREAS, THE TABLE DEMONSTRATES THE PROPORTION CHANGE IN VALUES OF CATEGORY OF EXPORTS DURING 2015 AND 2016.

OVERALL, IT CAN BE OBSERVED THAT PETROLEUM PRODUCTS AND ENGINEERED GOODS ARE VERY POPULAR EXPORTS EARNING IN BOTH YEARS.AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS EANINGS WAS THE ALMOST SAME IN BOTH YEARS.WHEREAS, THE GEMS AND JEWELLER ARE DECREASED AND ALL ARE INCREASED.

ACCORDING TO THE BAR CHART, THE PETROLEUM PRODUCTS EXPORTS EARNING WAS THE $61BILLION IN 2015 AND AROUNT $63 BILLION IN 2016, WHICH WAS THE HIGHEST EXPORTS EARNING CATEGORY. ENGINEERED GOODS ACCOUNTED FOR $58 BILLION IN 2015 AND $62 BILLLION IN 2016. MOREOVER, GEMS AND JEWELLERY $43 BILLION IN 2015 AND THEN THE EXPORTS EARNING SLIGHTLY DECREASED IN 2016 AT $40 BILLION. THE AGRICULTURAL PRODUCT ALMOST SAME EARNING IN BOTH YEARS AT $32 BILLION. IN CONTRAST, THE TEXTILES WAS THE LOWEST EXPORTS EARNING CATEGORY AT $27 BILION IN 2015 AND $32 BILLION IN 2016.

TALKING BAOUT TABLE, PETROLEUM PRODUCTS INCREASED 3% IN 2016,ENGINEERED GOODS WAS THE VALUES CHANGE AT 8.5%. AGRICULTURAL ACCOUNTED AT 0.81% AND TEXTILES 15.24% ARE ALSO INCREASED IN 2016 RESPECTIVELY. IN CONTRAST, GEMS AND JEWELLERY WAS THE DECREASED at 5.18%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You cover both the chart and the table, and your overview identifies the main pattern: petroleum and engineered goods were the largest earners, agricultural exports changed very little, and gems declined while the other categories rose. Most figures are close to the chart, including petroleum at $61 billion and $63 billion and textiles’ strong increase. However, the overview’s phrase “all are increased” conflicts with the fall in gems, and “very popular exports” does not clearly describe export value. Some details are also imprecise: engineered goods were about $57 billion in 2015, not $58 billion, and gems were about $41 billion in 2016, rather than $40 billion. State the overall trends more precisely and compare the scale of changes.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, a paragraph describing the chart, and a final paragraph covering the table. This makes the information generally easy to follow. You also use basic linking expressions such as “Moreover” and “In contrast” to signal comparisons. However, some connections are mechanical or unclear. For example, “Whereas, the gems and jewellery are decreased and all are increased” does not clearly connect the contrasting trends, and the table paragraph lists figures without explaining their relationship to the chart. Improve progression by grouping the largest categories, the smaller categories, and the percentage changes, and use linking words only where they express a clear relationship.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant task vocabulary, including “exports,” “category,” “increased,” “decreased,” and “percentage change,” so the main subject is usually clear. There is also some attempt to vary phrasing with “accounted for” and “in contrast.” However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural, such as “exports earnings,” “very popular exports earning,” and “the values change at 8.5%.” “Agriculture products” is less suitable than the chart’s “agricultural products,” while “proportion change” does not accurately express percentage change. Spelling slips such as “arount,” “baout,” and “bilion” also reduce precision. Build a reliable set of chart-description phrases and check spelling and word forms.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple statements and longer sentences with clauses, for example, “According to the bar chart…” and “..., which was the highest exports earning category.” The meaning is generally recoverable, but some grammatical errors recur. Examples include “Agricultural products earnings was” (subject–verb agreement), “the gems and jewellery are decreased” (incorrect verb form), and “the agricultural product almost same earning” (missing verb). Articles and sentence boundaries also need attention: “the textiles was” and the run-on formatting in “both years.Agricultural” make the text less controlled. Practise forming complete comparison sentences with accurate past-tense verbs, articles, and plural agreement. More consistent control of these basics, alongside varied sentence patterns, would make your comparisons clearer.

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