Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-08-09
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 depicted line chart demonstrates the information about of carbon dioxide that was emitted by per person by the four major countries named United Kingdom,Sweden ,Italy and Portugal from 1967 to 2007.
Throughout the given time period , the highest number of Uk citizens emitted the CO2,as it started from above 10 and stood at about 9 in the last year. Moreover, Portuguese showed a negligible count in the initial year but in the proceeding years, these numbers were slightly increased till 1997 , recorded as approximately 5 and remained constant thereafter.
Moving further, the second highest rank was showed by swedish people as nearly 8 in the first year and then continously declined to below 6 until 2007. Additionally, some significant fluctuations were noted in the case of Italy country .
Overall, it is clear that the maximum emissions were produced by the UK and the minimum by Portugal . However, rest of the countries showed some major oscillations.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response provides a general overview and identifies some key trends, such as the UK's overall higher emissions and the upward trend for Portugal. However, the analysis is somewhat superficial and lacks precision. For instance, the description of the Italian data as having 'some significant fluctuations' is vague and fails to describe the actual trend shown in the graph. Furthermore, the report misses the opportunity to make meaningful comparisons between the countries at specific points in time, such as the convergence of trends in the later years. The summary is present but lacks the depth required for a higher band score.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The essay is organized into four paragraphs, which is a standard structure for this task. There is a logical progression from the introduction to the body paragraphs and a final overview. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat mechanical and occasionally awkward, such as 'Moving further' and 'In the proceeding years'. Referencing is sometimes unclear, particularly in the second paragraph where the subject of the sentences shifts abruptly. While the paragraphing is appropriate, the flow between ideas could be improved with more sophisticated linking words to better connect the comparative data.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The range of vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks precision and variety. There are several instances of awkward phrasing, such as 'the highest number of Uk citizens emitted the CO2' and 'the second highest rank was showed by swedish people'. These errors indicate a limited control over collocation and word choice. While the vocabulary is sufficient to convey the main points, it does not demonstrate the flexibility or precision required for a higher band. More precise terms like 'per capita emissions', 'fluctuated', or 'downward trend' would have significantly improved the quality of the report.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. Examples include 'demonstrates the information about of carbon dioxide', 'the second highest rank was showed by swedish people', and 'rest of the countries'. Punctuation is also inconsistent, with missing spaces after commas and unnecessary spaces before them. While the meaning is generally understandable, the frequency of these errors in basic sentence construction prevents the response from reaching a higher band. More attention to subject-verb agreement and article usage is needed.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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