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 or exports in 2016 compared with 2015.
Sample Response
The bar chart and table give information about a country’s export earnings from five groups of products in 2015 and 2016.
It is noticeable that export revenues in all but one of the five product categories increased over the period shown. While petroleum products were the highest earning exports in both years, the textile industry saw the most significant growth in earnings.
Export earnings from petroleum products rose from around $61 billion in 2015 to $63 billion in 2016, which was an increase of 3%. Income from engineered goods reached a similar level. The country’s export earnings from these goods went up by 8.5% to approximately $62 billion in 2016.
From 2015 to 2016, there was a 15.24% increase in export revenue from textiles, with earnings rising from roughly $25 billion to over $30 billion. By contrast, there was almost no change in the amount of money earned from agricultural products, which remained at just over $30 billion. Finally, the only decline in income occurred in the gems and jewellery product group, where export earnings fell by around 5% to approximately $40 billion in 2016.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Use chart terminology Original: groups of products Suggested revision: product categories Why it matters: This wording matches the way the five exports are organised in the visual.
- 2. Name the exception Original: all but one of the five product categories Suggested revision: all categories except gems and jewellery Why it matters: Naming the only declining category makes the overview more precise.
- 3. Fix compound modifier Original: highest earning exports Suggested revision: highest-earning export category Why it matters: The singular category needs a hyphenated compound adjective.
- 4. Match category label Original: the textile industry Suggested revision: textiles Why it matters: Using the chart's category name is more precise than referring to the whole industry.
- 5. Clarify comparison Original: reached a similar level Suggested revision: reached a level similar to petroleum products Why it matters: The revision states explicitly which export value was similar.
- 6. Quantify small rise Original: almost no change in the amount of money earned from agricultural products Suggested revision: a slight 0.81% increase in earnings from agricultural products Why it matters: The table shows a small positive change that can be reported precisely.
- 7. Use exact percentage Original: around 5% Suggested revision: 5.18% Why it matters: The table provides the exact decrease for gems and jewellery.
- 8. Use consistent term Original: product group Suggested revision: category Why it matters: Using the same classification term throughout improves precision.
Suggested Rewrites
- groups of products product categories
- all but one of the five product categories all categories except gems and jewellery
- highest earning exports highest-earning export category
- the textile industry textiles
- reached a similar level reached a level similar to petroleum products
- almost no change in the amount of money earned from agricultural products a slight 0.81% increase in earnings from agricultural products
Why this response received Band 9.0
The response excels in selecting and comparing the principal features, with an immediately clear overview and consistently accurate figures across both years. Its only limitation is that the treatment of agricultural products is slightly compressed, although the negligible change is still captured accurately. To make an already highly effective report even sharper, state the small 0.81% rise explicitly while preserving the concise comparative structure.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The response fully covers the key trends and categories with an accurate overview, well-selected figures, and effective comparisons.
For maximum numerical precision, explicitly state the 0.81% rise in agricultural exports rather than describing it only as almost no change.
Coherence and Cohesion
Information is sequenced logically through a clear overview and well-focused detail paragraphs, with cohesive devices used unobtrusively.
Maintain this disciplined grouping by continuing to organise details around meaningful comparisons rather than chart order alone.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is consistently precise, natural, and varied, including effective language for values, change, and comparison.
Preserve this precision by continuing to match each trend verb and modifier closely to the scale shown in the data.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A wide range of sentence structures is handled accurately and flexibly throughout, with punctuation supporting effortless reading.
Continue varying clause patterns while retaining the same high level of grammatical control and concision.
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IELTS Academic Writing Task 1
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 or exports in 2016 compared with 2015.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.