Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-10-29

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 compares the proportion of export's earnings of one country between 2015 to 2016. The table illustrates the change in the percentage of exports in 2016 contrasted with previous year. Overall, values of exports declined steadily throughout the both years demonstrates by bar chart, whereas in table, textiles illustrate the substantial change of 15.24% while other shows moderate increase.

Initially, almost all exports gave same earnig with respect both years with a minor difference. However, petroleum products and engineered goods owned peak value around 60 billion dollars in both years. In contrast, agricultural products and textiles also have almost same earning during 2015 to 2016 but these were at only 30 billion dollars which were minor earning as compared to others. Furthermore, gems and jewellery earned 40 billion dollars in both years.

On the other hand, from 2015 to 2016, textiles and engineerd goods enhanced their values devastatly while agricultural and petroleum products illustrate minor change. In contrast, value of gems and jewellery declined from 2015 to 2016.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify several relevant features, including the high values for petroleum and engineered goods, the lower earnings for agricultural products and textiles, and the decline in gems and jewellery. However, the overview is inaccurate: exports did not “decline steadily”; most categories rose, while only gems and jewellery fell. Some comparisons are also imprecise. Textiles increased from about $26 billion to $31.5 billion, whereas engineered goods rose from about $57 billion to $62 billion, so describing both as having the same kind of substantial change obscures their different starting values. Include the key overall pattern and support it with accurate figures and the table’s percentage changes.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, an overview, and paragraphs describing the chart and changes. The reader can generally follow the movement from category comparisons to year-on-year changes. However, progression is weakened by repeated or unclear contrasts, such as “In contrast” appearing where the relationship is not actually contrasting, and “On the other hand” introducing another description of the same data. The overview also conflicts with the later statement that some categories increased and gems declined. Group the main comparisons more deliberately, and use linking phrases only when they accurately show the relationship between ideas.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some task-relevant vocabulary, including “export earnings,” “declined,” “minor difference,” and “percentage,” and you attempt more descriptive terms such as “substantial.” However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or awkward, including “proportion of export’s earnings,” “owned peak value,” and “enhanced their values devastatly.” Spelling errors such as “earnig” and “engineerd” also reduce precision. These issues do not prevent the reader from understanding the general topic, but they make the account less clear and natural. Prefer standard chart language such as “export revenue,” “recorded the highest figures,” and “rose considerably,” and check spelling carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, for example, “In contrast, value of gems and jewellery declined from 2015 to 2016.” Most of the intended meaning remains understandable, but some grammatical errors affect clarity. In the opening, “between 2015 to 2016” uses an incorrect preposition pattern; write “between 2015 and 2016.” The overview’s “values of exports declined steadily throughout the both years demonstrates” has problems with article use, agreement, and sentence structure. There are also inconsistent tense choices, such as “have” when describing past data. Build accuracy by using clear past-tense clauses and checking subject–verb agreement and articles.

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