Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-08-24
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 5.5)
The graph illustrates the information of average carbon dioxide emissions per person in the United Kingdom, Sweden, Italy and Portugal. The figures are given in metric tonnes.
Overall, United Kingdom and Sweden is the two countries in which carbon dioxide is used more in 1967, however they no longer exist in 2007 they steadily declined. Italy and Portugal rose all over the period from 1967 to 2007.
In 1967, carbon dioxide was more used by United Kingdom by 11 tonnes in 1967 to 1977, but they gradually fell in 1987 to 2007 by 9 tonnes. On the other hand, Sweden started with 6 tonnes carbon dioxide used by individuals. In 1977, Sweden sharply soared at 10 tonnes approximately. In 1987, they sharply, plummeted to 7 tonnes. By the end of the year, they steadily fell in 2007 at 5 tonnes.
Italy, started with 4.5 tonnes approximately in 1967, but significantly rose in 1977 at 6.5 tonnes. From 1977 to 1987 they stayed constant, but in 1997 carbon dioxide gradually grew at 7.5 tonnes approximately. By the end of the year they remained stable. Portugal started with 1.5 tonnes in 1967, then gradually climbed in the 1987 by 3.5 approximately. In 1987 to 1997 carbon dioxide rapidly surged to 4.5 approximately, and remain stable by the end of the period.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The response provides a clear overview of the main trends, identifying the decline in the UK and Sweden and the growth in Italy and Portugal. However, the report contains several factual inaccuracies regarding the data. For example, stating that the UK and Sweden 'no longer exist in 2007' is a significant misinterpretation of the graph. Furthermore, the description of the UK's decline is imprecise, and the claim that Sweden 'soared' in 1977 is not supported by the visual data. While the main features are selected, the lack of accuracy in reporting the data points significantly hinders the task achievement.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The essay is organised into logical paragraphs, with an introduction, an overview, and two body paragraphs focusing on the two groups of countries. Cohesive devices such as 'On the other hand', 'In 1967', and 'By the end of the year' are used to link ideas. However, the referencing is sometimes confusing, such as the use of 'they' to refer to countries, which occasionally creates ambiguity. The progression of ideas is generally clear, but the mechanical nature of some transitions and the occasional misuse of cohesive markers limit the score.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, using terms like 'illustrates', 'steadily declined', 'sharply soared', and 'remained stable'. However, there are instances of awkward word choice and collocation errors, such as 'carbon dioxide is used more' (emissions are produced, not used) and 'by the end of the year' (when referring to a decade or a period). The range is sufficient to convey the main points, but the lack of precision in terminology prevents a higher score.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are frequent grammatical errors, including subject-verb agreement issues ('United Kingdom and Sweden is the two countries') and incorrect prepositional usage ('rose all over the period'). Punctuation is generally functional, but there are errors in sentence construction that occasionally impede the flow of information. While the meaning is usually clear, the frequency of grammatical slips is noticeable throughout the text.
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