Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-08-03
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 5.0)
The line chart shows average carbon dioxide emissions per person in the United Kingdom, Sweden, Italy and Portugal in years 1967 to 2007.
Overall, it is clearly visible that highest emissions of carbon dioxide is in UK and lowest emissions of carbon dioxide is in Portugal, but overall graph of UK and Sweden is decline whereas overall graph of Italy and Portugal is sky rocketed.
In 1967 there are highest emissions of carbon dioxide is in UK, it is nearly 10, then near 8 in Sweden, nearly 4 in Italy and nearly 2 in Portugal. In 1977 there are lowest emissions of CO2 in Portugal nearly 2, then nearly 4 in Italy and almost same in UK and Sweden nearly 10. In 1987 there are highest emissions of CO2 is in UK almost 10, Sweden and Italy has almost same emissions of CO2 in 1987 and lowest emissions of CO2 in 1987 in Portugal near 4.
The lowest emissions in 1997 is in Portugal near 6, there are also almost 6 in Italy, Sweden near 8 and near 10 in UK. In 2007 there are highest emissions of CO2 is in UK between 8 and 10, Italy has almost 8 and Sweden and Portugal has same emissions of CO2, it was almost 6.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The response covers all four countries and the time period provided. However, the overview is slightly inaccurate; while the UK and Sweden did decline, the description of Italy and Portugal as 'sky rocketed' is an overstatement, as their growth was more moderate. The reporting of data points is generally accurate, but the structure is repetitive, focusing on listing figures year-by-year rather than synthesizing the trends. To improve, you should group the countries by their trends (e.g., those that decreased versus those that increased) to provide a more analytical summary rather than a chronological list of data points.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0
The essay is organized into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is very limited and mechanical. You rely heavily on simple sentence structures and repetitive phrases like 'In [year] there are...' and 'lowest emissions... is in...'. There is a lack of linking words to connect ideas between sentences or paragraphs, making the flow feel disjointed. To reach a higher band, incorporate a wider range of cohesive devices such as 'conversely', 'in contrast', 'meanwhile', or 'subsequently' to improve the logical flow of your comparisons.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks variety and precision. You use basic descriptors like 'highest', 'lowest', and 'same' repeatedly. There is also a lack of academic collocations appropriate for describing graph trends. For instance, instead of 'sky rocketed', which is informal, you could use 'experienced a significant upward trend' or 'showed a marked increase'. The repetition of 'emissions of carbon dioxide' throughout the text makes the writing feel monotonous. Expanding your range of verbs and adjectives to describe changes would significantly enhance your score.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The response contains frequent grammatical errors, particularly with subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'highest emissions... is in UK') and tense usage (e.g., 'In 1967 there are...'). There is a lack of complex sentence structures; most sentences are simple or compound with basic conjunctions. Punctuation is also inconsistent, with several run-on sentences. To improve, focus on using past tense consistently when describing historical data and practice forming complex sentences using relative clauses or subordinating conjunctions (e.g., 'While the UK saw a decline, Portugal experienced a steady rise').
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