Key features to report

• Petroleum products were the most valuable export in both years, rising from just over $60 billion to about $63 billion, an increase of 3%.
• Engineered goods were the second largest category and grew by 8.5%, from about $57 billion to just over $61 billion, almost catching up with petroleum products.
• Gems and jewellery was the only category to fall, by 5.18%, from roughly $43 billion to just over $40 billion.
• Agricultural products barely changed, staying at about $31 billion with growth of only 0.81%.
• Textiles showed the biggest percentage rise, 15.24%, climbing from about $25 billion, the lowest figure on the chart, to just over $30 billion, roughly level with agricultural products.
• The two visuals should be integrated: use the bar chart for approximate dollar values and the table for the exact percentage changes.

Model overview

Overall, petroleum products and engineered goods generated the highest export earnings in both years, and the value of every category except gems and jewellery increased. Textiles recorded by far the fastest growth, while agricultural products remained almost unchanged.

Paragraph plan

1. 1

   Introduction

   Paraphrase both visuals in one or two sentences: the bar chart compares the value of a country's exports in five categories in 2015 and 2016 in billions of dollars, and the table shows the percentage change in each category.

2. 2

   Overview

   Give the main points without figures: petroleum products and engineered goods were the top two earners, all categories grew except gems and jewellery, and textiles grew fastest.

3. 3

   Body paragraph 1: the two largest categories

   Describe petroleum products (just over $60 billion to about $63 billion, up 3%) and engineered goods (about $57 billion to just over $61 billion, up 8.5%), noting that the gap between them narrowed.

4. 4

   Body paragraph 2: the three smaller categories

   Contrast gems and jewellery, the only category to fall (5.18%, from about $43 billion to just over $40 billion), with agricultural products, almost unchanged at about $31 billion (0.81%), and textiles, which rose by 15.24% from about $25 billion to just over $30 billion.

Useful comparisons

• Group the two leading categories, petroleum products and engineered goods, which both earned around $60 billion.
• Contrast the only decline (gems and jewellery) with the four categories that grew.
• Compare the size of growth: textiles rose by 15.24%, almost twice the rate of engineered goods (8.5%) and about five times the rate of petroleum products (3%).
• Note the near stability of agricultural products, whose 0.81% rise is too small to see on the bar chart.
• Highlight changes in rank or gaps: engineered goods narrowed the gap with petroleum products, and textiles drew roughly level with agricultural products.
• Combine the visuals in each sentence, giving an approximate dollar value from the chart and the exact percentage from the table.

Band 8+ model answer

191 words · An original model answer written for ieltswrites, not an official answer. It stays in English, as in the exam.

Why this answer scores highly

Task Achievement

The answer gives a clear overview of the leading categories, the single decline and the fastest growth, and supports each point with approximate values from the chart combined with exact percentages from the table.

Coherence and Cohesion

The body is organised by grouping the two large categories and then the three smaller ones, and linkers such as by contrast, meanwhile and as a result connect the two visuals naturally.

Lexical Resource

Precise phrases such as the most lucrative, a marginal rise, virtually unchanged and narrowing the gap avoid repetition and describe the size of change accurately.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy

Past tenses are used correctly for 2015 and 2016, and the answer includes relative clauses, participle phrases and comparatives such as almost twice the rate of, all with accurate punctuation.

Useful vocabulary

export earnings

the money a country receives from selling goods abroad

product category

a group of similar goods, such as textiles or engineered goods

engineered goods

manufactured products such as machinery, vehicles and equipment

generate revenue

produce income

the most lucrative

the one that earns the most money

a marginal increase

a very small rise

virtually unchanged

almost exactly the same as before

the only category to decline

the single group whose value went down

the fastest growth

the largest percentage rise

narrow the gap

reduce the difference between two figures

draw level with

reach the same value as another category

year on year

compared with the previous year

in billions of dollars

the unit used on the bar chart

respectively

in the same order as the items just mentioned

Common mistakes

• Describing only the bar chart or only the table instead of linking the dollar values with the percentage changes.
• Confusing percentage change with dollar value, for example saying textiles earned the most because they had the largest percentage increase.
• Writing that the country exported more products, when the chart shows the value of exports, not the quantity.
• Forgetting that gems and jewellery fell while every other category rose, which is a key feature.
• Reading values inaccurately from the y-axis, which starts at 10 rather than 0, so the bars exaggerate the differences between categories.
• Listing the five categories one after another with no overview or comparisons.

Frequently asked questions

Which Cambridge book is this question from?

This bar chart and table about a country's export earnings in 2015 and 2016 are Writing Task 1 of Test 2 in Cambridge IELTS 14 Academic, published in 2019.

Should I describe the bar chart and the table separately?

It is better to combine them. For each category, give an approximate dollar value from the chart and the exact percentage change from the table in the same sentence.

What category is this Task 1 question?

It is a mixed question because it combines two different visuals, a bar chart and a table, which must both be summarised and compared.

How many words should I write for this Task 1?

Write at least 150 words; around 170-200 words is enough to cover all five categories briefly with a clear overview.