Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-09-02

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 emissions per person in four countries, namely the United Kingdom, Sweden, Italy and Portugal from 1967 to 2007.

Overall, the emissions were remained stable and by far the highest in the United Kingdom, whereas after a slight initial increase, the figure for Sweden experienced a substantial decline. However, other two countries fluctuated continuously over the years.

The figure for emissions of CO2 in the United kingdom stood at approximately 11 metric tonnes in 1967, while it began to drop continuously over the years and reached 9 tonnes in 2007. For Sweden, the figure was around 9 tonnes in 1967, whereas it increased slightly above 10 tonnes in 1977, before facing a significant decline over the subsequent years, reaching at approximately 5 tonnes until 2007.

However, Italy showed considerable fluctuations in the overall time period, starting from around 4.5 tonnes in 1967 and reaching around 7.5 tonnes in 2007, it experienced the figures around 6.5, 7 and 7.5 tonnes in the years 1977, 1987 and 1997, respectively. The figure for carbon emissions in Portugal stood at approximately above 1 ton in 1967, whereas it reached around 2 tonnes in 1977, 3 tonnes in 1987 and reached 5 tonnes with a slight rise in 1997 and remained stable until 2007.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

You have successfully identified the main trends and provided a clear overview of the data. You selected relevant features, such as the decline in the UK and Sweden and the growth in Italy and Portugal, and made appropriate comparisons. However, the overview is slightly inaccurate; you stated that emissions 'remained stable' in the UK, but the data shows a clear downward trend from 11 to 9 tonnes. Additionally, the phrasing 'other two countries fluctuated continuously' is a slight over-generalization, as Portugal shows a steady upward trend rather than fluctuation. Despite these minor inaccuracies, the response covers all parts of the task well.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The response is logically organized with a clear introduction, overview, and body paragraphs. You use a range of cohesive devices such as 'whereas', 'however', and 'subsequent years' to link ideas effectively. Paragraphing is used appropriately to group the countries by their trends. The progression of information is clear throughout the text. While some transitions are slightly mechanical, the overall structure is coherent and easy to follow, meeting the requirements for a Band 7.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey information with precision, using terms like 'substantial decline', 'considerable fluctuations', and 'metric tonnes'. There are occasional minor errors in word choice, such as 'the emissions were remained stable' (a grammatical error affecting lexical flow) and 'the overall time period' (which is slightly redundant). However, you successfully use a variety of reporting verbs and descriptive phrases that allow for flexibility. The vocabulary is adequate for the task and allows for clear communication.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as 'while it began to drop... and reached 9 tonnes'. There are some grammatical slips, such as 'the emissions were remained stable' (passive voice error) and 'reaching at approximately 5 tonnes' (unnecessary preposition). Additionally, 'the figure for emissions of CO2 in the United kingdom' contains a capitalization error. Despite these errors, the meaning is never obscured, and the majority of your sentences are clear and well-structured. A wider variety of complex structures would be needed for a higher band.

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