Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-07-24

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 6.5)

The line graph illustrates the average carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions per person in the United Kingdom, Sweden, Italy and Portugal from 1967 to 2007.

Overall, Sweden showed a downward trend throughout the period. whereas Italy and Portugal showed an upward trend. In addition, the United Kingdom declined gradually.

At the beginning of the period, the united kingdom recorded the highest feature at approximately 11 metric tones in 1967. before declining gradually to around 9 metric tones in 2007. Moreover, Sweden started at around 9 matric tones in 1967, it increased sharply to 10 matric tones in 1977. it fell to 7 matric tones in 2007.

Meanwhile, Italy stood at around 4 metric tones in 1967 before increased sharply to 6 matric tones in 1977. it remained stable around two years between 1997 and 2007. Furthermore, Portugal stood at about 1 matric tones in 1967 before grew rapidly to around 7 matric tones in 2007 .

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

You have successfully identified the main trends and provided relevant data points for all four countries. The overview clearly contrasts the downward trend of Sweden and the UK with the upward trends of Italy and Portugal. However, the response could be improved by ensuring all data points are accurate and by avoiding minor inaccuracies, such as stating Italy remained stable for 'two years' when the graph shows a longer period. To reach a higher band, ensure that comparisons are more explicit, for example, by noting that Portugal started at the lowest point but ended significantly higher than Sweden.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organized into an introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs. You use some cohesive devices like 'Meanwhile', 'Furthermore', and 'In addition' to link ideas. However, the flow is occasionally interrupted by fragmented sentences and punctuation errors, such as starting sentences with lowercase letters after periods (e.g., 'before declining', 'it increased'). Improving the use of transition words and ensuring proper sentence structure would enhance the overall cohesion. The paragraphing is appropriate for a task of this length, but the internal structure of the paragraphs needs more careful attention to detail.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'downward trend', 'upward trend', and 'metric tones'. There are, however, consistent spelling errors, specifically 'tones' instead of 'tonnes' and 'matric' instead of 'metric'. These errors are repetitive and slightly detract from the professional tone of the report. To improve, focus on using more precise reporting verbs and ensuring the correct spelling of technical units. While the vocabulary is sufficient to convey the main features of the graph, it lacks the variety and precision required for a higher band score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

Your writing shows a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. However, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with verb tenses and sentence boundaries. For example, you write 'before increased sharply' instead of 'before increasing sharply' and 'before grew rapidly' instead of 'before growing rapidly'. Additionally, there are several instances of sentence fragments where a new sentence begins with a lowercase letter or a dependent clause is punctuated as a full sentence. These errors occur frequently and occasionally impede the flow of the text, though the meaning remains clear throughout.

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