Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

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

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

The graph below shows average carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions per person in the United Kingdom, Sweden, Italy and Portugal between 1967 and 2007.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

Student answer (Band 5.5)

The line graph compared, how much carbon dioxide emitted by per person in the countries like Swedan, Italy, Portugal and United kingdom from 1967 to 2007.

The most noticeable declined occured in swedan amoung all countries, whereas Portugal can be seen in the rising position of carbon dioxide emissions per person between 1967 to 2007.

In 1967, Portugal was standing at the lowest position, where amissions of carbon dioxide per person was below 2 metric tonnes in the chart, in contrast with the country like United kingdom, which had a the highest of 11 metric tonnes per person, and swedan was having 9 metric subsequently. However in 1977, a dramatic increased can be seen in the case of swedan, grewing from 9 to 11 metric tonnes but another significant change occured when swedan dramatically declined from 11 to 5 in 2007.

The gradual increased can be seen in the countries like italy and portugal. their per person tonnes went off to 7 and 5 sebsequently. Italy in 1987 dominated swedan and reached to 7 metric tonnes. Additionally, in the year 2007, swedan and portugal maintain the same level, whereas a slightly declined can be seen in the countries like United kingdom and Italy.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the main broad patterns: Sweden rises before falling, Portugal increases, and the UK remains the highest overall. You also include several relevant comparisons, such as Portugal’s low starting point and its matching Sweden by 2007. However, the overview is incomplete and some key details are inaccurate or unclear. Sweden falls to about 5.4 tonnes, not 5, and Italy reaches about 7.6 by 1997 and then stays level; it does not decline slightly by 2007. The claim that the UK and Italy both declined at the end is therefore misleading. Develop a clearer overview covering the UK’s gradual fall, Italy’s rise and plateau, and the countries’ relative positions at the end.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic paragraph structure, moving from an introduction and overview to details, and it uses time markers such as “In 1967,” “in 1977,” and “in the year 2007.” These help readers follow the timeline. However, progression is uneven: the final paragraph shifts between Italy’s 1987 position, general increases, and 2007 without a clear sequence. Some linking expressions are awkward or do not show the intended relationship, including “whereas” in the overview and “Additionally” before the final comparison. References such as “their per person tonnes” are also unclear. Group the details by trend or by period, and use simpler, precise links to make comparisons easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some task-relevant vocabulary, including “metric tonnes,” “declined,” “dramatic,” and “gradual increased,” and you attempt to describe changes rather than merely list figures. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate, which makes parts of the report difficult to interpret. Examples include “rising position,” “was standing at the lowest position,” “grewing,” and “went off to 7 and 5.” There are also repeated spelling errors in country names and key terms, such as “Swedan,” “amissions,” and “sebsequently.” Use standard trend language consistently—for example, “rose to,” “fell to,” “remained stable,” and “recorded the lowest figure”—and check spelling carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including comparisons with “whereas” and clauses beginning with “which.” However, errors occur frequently in sentence construction and make some relationships hard to follow. For example, “how much carbon dioxide emitted by per person” lacks a correctly formed clause, while “a dramatic increased can be seen” has an incorrect noun form and article pattern. Agreement and tense are also inconsistent in “emissions … was” and “Portugal and Sweden maintain the same level.” Several sentences contain multiple problems, including “The gradual increased can be seen … their per person tonnes went off.” Practise accurate past-tense reporting and basic sentence patterns before adding complex clauses; this will make your comparisons clearer.

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