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User-written IELTS example

Writing Academic Task 1 Band 5.0 Example

Original task prompt, user essay, band score, and related examples in the same report workspace.

204 words AcademicTask 1Pie Chart
Task 1

Illustrative target band for this original model answer.

Plan your answer

Try your own response before reading the samples.

Ideas to explore

  • Compare the largest category in each direction: aircraft parts are $72 million from the US to Vietnam, while coffee is $23 million from Vietnam to the US.
  • Highlight the gap between the leading and smaller categories: US exports include other goods at $35 million and machinery at $30.5 million, while Vietnam’s garments and other exports are both $2 million.
  • Point out close values where they help summarise the data: Vietnam’s seafood ($4.4 million) and rice ($4.3 million) are almost equal.

Suggested structure

  1. Paraphrase what the charts compare and state that values are in millions of dollars.
  2. Give an overview naming the leading category in each direction and any notable tie or overall contrast.
  3. Describe US-to-Vietnam exports from the largest value to the smallest.
  4. Describe Vietnam-to-US exports in descending order, grouping the close seafood and rice figures and the tied lowest figures.
Useful vocabulary & examples
account for
to make up or represent a stated amount or share

Aircraft parts account for $72 million of exports to Vietnam.

be valued at
to have a stated monetary value

Machinery is valued at $30.5 million.

be tied at
to have the same value as another category

Garments and other exports are tied at $2 million.

followed by
used to introduce the next item in a ranking

Coffee leads at $23 million, followed by fruit and vegetables at $16 million.

Task Prompt

The pie charts below shows exports between the US and Vietnam
IELTS Writing Task 1 visual

User Essay Analysis

Review the public answer with report-style highlights.

Band 5.0

The pie charts illustrate the expenditure in millions of dollars made by the US and Vietnam on exports between them for different items. Overall, Vietnam spent more on exports compared to the US. Among the items featured , the US spent most on Vietnam’s coffee, while Vietnam’s highest expenditure on US aircraft parts. The US exported goods worth $72 million to Vietnam in aircraft parts, the largest category. Other goods and machinery were also significant, at $35 million and $30.5 million respectively. Fertiliser was valued at $16.5 million, while cotton and cars were lower, at $12 million and $6 million.

For Vietnam, coffee was the largest export to the US, at $23 million, followed by fruit and vegetables at $16 million. Seafood and rice were similar, at $4.4 million and $4.3 million. Garments and other goods each had a value of $2 million.

However, the figures show that US exports to Vietnam were much higher overall than Vietnamese exports to the US. This difference is especially clear in aircraft parts, which alone were worth more than Vietnam’s coffee and fruit and vegetables combined. In general, Vietnam’s exports were concentrated mainly in coffee and produce, whereas US exports included several substantial categories.

Targeted Improvement Tips

1
Check the chart direction before writing the overview: distinguish Vietnam-to-US exports from US-to-Vietnam exports, then state which flow has the higher values.
2
Describe figures as export values, not as money a country “spent”; use a consistent pattern such as “US exports to Vietnam were valued at $72 million.”
3
Before submitting, check every sentence after “while” for a complete clause and proofread punctuation around commas.

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