IELTS Academic Writing Task 1: Export Earnings (2015-2016)
The Task:
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.
Write at least 150 words.
Export Earnings (2015-2016)
Task 1
Advertisement
Band 9 Model Answer
The provided bar chart and accompanying table detail the export earnings of a specific country across five distinct product categories in the years 2015 and 2016, alongside the corresponding percentage changes between the two years.
Overall, the country experienced an upward trend in export earnings across almost all sectors, resulting in a generally successful economic year. Notably, petroleum products remained the highest-grossing export throughout the period, while textiles demonstrated the most significant proportional growth. Gems and jewellery was the sole category to witness a decline in revenue.
Looking specifically at the most lucrative sectors, petroleum products generated the highest revenue, increasing by 3% from 2015 to 2016 to remain the dominant export. Similarly, engineered goods represented the second-largest earner, climbing from approximately $50 billion in 2015 to over $60 billion the following year, which reflected a robust growth rate of over 8%.
Turning to the remaining categories, agricultural products remained relatively stable, earning just over $30 billion in both years and registering a marginal increase of 0.81%. The textiles industry, however, experienced a dramatic surge; earnings jumped from roughly $25 billion in 2015 to over $30 billion in 2016, translating to an impressive 15.24% increase. Conversely, the export value of gems and jewellery fell. Despite remaining the third most valuable export overall, it experienced a negative growth trajectory, decreasing by 5.18% over the one-year period.
💡 Why this is a Band 9 Answer:
- Task Achievement: The answer flawlessly summarizes both the chart and the table, completely replacing the disjointed and informal phrasing of the original draft. The overview perfectly highlights the main trends: the overall growth, the top earner (petroleum), the fastest grower (textiles), and the sole declining sector (gems and jewellery).
- Coherence & Cohesion: Paragraphs are logically organized. One paragraph focuses on the highest-earning sectors, while the next details the stable, fast-growing, and declining sectors. Transition phrases are used naturally (Overall, Looking specifically at, Turning to the remaining categories, Conversely).
- Lexical Resource: Uses precise, advanced vocabulary appropriate for describing financial data and economic trends (upward trend, highest-grossing, proportional growth, lucrative sectors, robust growth rate, marginal increase, negative growth trajectory).
- Grammatical Range & Accuracy: Employs a superb mix of complex sentence structures flawlessly while maintaining highly accurate phrasing (“Despite remaining the third most valuable export overall, it experienced a negative growth trajectory…”).
Advertisement
IELTS Academic Writing Task 2: The Greatest Environmental Threat
The Task:
Some people say that the main environmental problem of our time is the loss of particular species of plants and animals. Others say that there are more important environmental problems.
Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.
Write at least 250 words.
Task 2
Band 9 Model Essay
In the modern era, environmental degradation has become an existential global crisis. Consequently, a debate has emerged regarding which ecological issue deserves the most urgent attention. While some argue that the rapid extinction of plant and animal species is our most pressing concern, others contend that broader, systemic issues pose a far greater threat. In my opinion, although biodiversity loss is undoubtedly a catastrophic tragedy, overarching problems like global climate change are far more critical, as they are the fundamental root cause of these extinctions.
Those who assert that the loss of biodiversity is the primary environmental crisis point to the delicate interdependence of the Earth’s ecosystems. The extinction of a single species can trigger a severe cascading effect, disrupting the food web and ultimately leading to the collapse of entire ecological environments. For example, the alarming decline in global bee populations severely threatens agricultural pollination, which could precipitate a devastating global food shortage. Furthermore, the loss of rare plant species in regions like the Amazon rainforest permanently deprives humanity of undiscovered medicinal resources that could potentially cure fatal diseases. From this perspective, preserving the planet’s flora and fauna is absolutely essential for long-term human survival.
Conversely, others argue that macro-level issues such as climate change, greenhouse gas emissions, and severe ocean pollution demand immediate prioritization. I strongly align with this view. Global warming acts as a universal umbrella threat to all life on Earth. Rising global temperatures, melting polar ice caps, and increasingly erratic weather patterns do not merely threaten isolated habitats; they jeopardize the entire biosphere. Furthermore, climate change is the primary driver of the very biodiversity loss that others fear. Protecting a specific species of animal is a futile endeavor if its natural habitat is completely eradicated by unprecedented droughts, raging wildfires, or rising sea levels.
In conclusion, while the accelerating loss of plant and animal species deeply disrupts ecological equilibrium and threatens human agriculture, it is ultimately a symptom of a much larger, systemic disease. Addressing the overarching crisis of global climate change must be humanity’s primary objective, as failing to stabilize the Earth’s climate will inevitably guarantee the destruction of all species, including our own.
💡 Why this is a Band 9 Answer:
- Task Response: The essay perfectly addresses both views in the prompt. It thoroughly explains why some view biodiversity loss as the main problem (ecosystem collapse, food shortages, medicinal loss) and powerfully defends why climate change is more important (it is the macro-level root cause that destroys the habitats in the first place).
- Coherence & Cohesion: The essay utilizes a highly effective four-paragraph structure. Transition phrases guide the reader effortlessly through the complex arguments (Consequently, Those who assert, For example, Conversely, Furthermore, In conclusion).
- Lexical Resource: Showcases an exceptional, sophisticated vocabulary suited for an environmental and scientific discursive essay (existential global crisis, delicate interdependence, severe cascading effect, macro-level issues, biosphere, ecological equilibrium).
- Grammatical Range & Accuracy: Uses a wide variety of complex grammatical structures perfectly, creating a highly persuasive, authoritative, and academic tone.
Advertisement