Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-11-04

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)

First of all the provided chart shows the changes in one country export on many categories between 2015 and 2016.Overall, there is a clear increase on many categories like petroleum, engineered goods and textiles but gems and jewellery made a decrease. Second the petroleum products made a great level up by 3% from 60 billions to around 64 billions and made the highest profit compared to the other categories between 2015 to 2016, engineered goods too rose by a bigger percentage about 8.5% from 56 to 62 billions on the same period, agricultural products moved up by 0.81% from 31 to 32 billions, textiles made the biggest move and rose by 15.24 from 25 to 31 billions while gems and jewellery drop by 5.18% from 43 to probably 41 billions. finally from 2015 to 2016 most of the categories has made a great arise but just gems and jewellery turned back.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the main overall pattern: most export categories rose, while gems and jewellery declined. You also report all five categories and include relevant comparisons, such as textiles having the largest percentage increase and petroleum products remaining the highest-valued export. These points address the task, although some details are unclear or inaccurate: petroleum is described as rising from 60 to around 64 billion, whereas the chart is approximately 61 to 63 billion, and the engineered-goods figures are also slightly misreported. The overview could be more precise by highlighting that gems and jewellery was the only category to fall and that agricultural exports were almost unchanged. Develop the comparisons with accurate figures and avoid vague claims such as “great level up.”

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has a recognisable overall-to-details structure: it begins with a general statement, gives an overview, and then reports category figures. This helps the reader follow the main message. However, the progression is weakened by placing the overview and several detailed comparisons in one long sequence, followed by a final sentence that repeats the overview. Connectors such as “First of all,” “Second,” and “finally” feel mechanical and do not clearly signal the relationships between the data. Group the categories into clearer paragraphs—for example, the higher-value exports and the remaining categories—and use comparisons to link them. This would create a more consistent progression and reduce repetition.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant topic vocabulary, including “categories,” “petroleum products,” “percentage,” and “compared to,” so the main information is generally understandable. There is also some attempt to vary wording with “rose,” “moved up,” and “decrease.” However, several expressions are imprecise or unnatural for describing chart data: “made a great level up,” “made the biggest move,” “turned back,” and “great arise.” “Profit” is also not the right term for export value; use “earnings” or “value.” Some wording is repeated, particularly “made,” and percentage changes should be expressed consistently as “15.24%.” Aim for accurate collocations such as “increased by,” “stood at,” and “recorded a decline.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple statements and longer sentences that combine several comparisons, showing some range. The main trends can usually be understood, but errors in sentence boundaries, agreement, articles, and prepositions reduce control. For example, “Overall, there is” runs directly into the next sentence without a space, and “most of the categories has made” should use a plural verb. Phrases such as “between 2015 to 2016” also need a more accurate grammatical pattern, such as “between 2015 and 2016.” The long sentence beginning “Second the petroleum products” would be clearer if divided into shorter sentences. Check punctuation and agreement, and practise combining clauses without creating run-on sentences.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.