Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-09-13

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 CO2 released by four countries including the United Kingdom, Sweden, Italy, and Portugal individually between 1967 and 2007.

Overall, it can be seen that the CO2 emissions in the United Kingdom and Sweden followed a downward trend while the average emissions of CO2 in Italy and Portugal increased significantly throughout the period. The United Kingdom had the largest emissions at the beginning and ending of the period although it followed a downward trend.

In 1967, CO2 released per person was approximately 11 metric tonnes, decreased minimally and reached to 10 metric tonnes in 1987, eventually ended up to almost 9 metric tonnes, the same amount for the emissions in Sweden had been recorded at the beginning of the period. It rose substantially to just over 10 metric tonnes in the following decade, went down to almost 5 metric tonnes in 2007.

Notably, Italy had followed the upward trend with just over 4 metric tonnes emissions of CO2 per person at start, and rose to almost 8 metric tonnes, afterwards remained at the same point by the end of the period. Portugal had the lowest emissions in 1967, but its amount jumped up to 5 metric tonnes in three decades and stayed at the same amount in 2007.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response successfully covers all parts of the task by identifying the main features and making relevant comparisons between the four countries over the given time period. In the overview, you correctly note the downward trend for the UK and Sweden alongside the upward trend for Italy and Portugal, and you correctly highlight that the UK maintained the highest emissions overall. However, the body paragraphs contain some inaccuracies and lack absolute clarity regarding specific data points; for instance, stating that the UK 'ended up to almost 9 metric tonnes' when the graph shows it starting at around 11 and ending higher than Sweden's final point. Additionally, Sweden's starting point is slightly misreported. Nonetheless, the overall response is fully functional and addresses the prompt well.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The response is arranged coherently with a clear introduction, an overall summary paragraph, and separate body paragraphs dealing with the trends. Progression is generally logical, moving from the broad overview into specific country comparisons. Cohesive devices are used to link ideas, such as 'Overall, it can be seen that' and 'Notably, Italy had followed', though some referencing and transitions feel slightly mechanical. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the introduction, overview, and body details, though breaking the body into two paragraphs makes the body structure slightly dense. Overall, the flow of information is clear and easy to follow throughout the text.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, successfully conveying trends and measurements with phrases like 'downward trend', 'increased significantly', and 'rose substantially'. You attempt some less common lexical items and collocations, such as 'metric tonnes' and 'substantially'. However, there are minor inaccuracies and awkward word choices, such as 'the same amount for the emissions in Sweden had been recorded' and 'at start', which show a lack of full precision. Spelling is generally accurate, and vocabulary errors do not impede communication, placing the response comfortably within the competent band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, including subordinate clauses like 'while the average emissions of CO2 in Italy and Portugal increased significantly throughout the period'. There are several grammatical errors and awkward phrasings, such as 'CO2 released per person was approximately 11 metric tonnes, decreased minimally and reached to 10 metric tonnes' (where verbs are strung together without proper subjects or connectors) and 'ended up to almost 9 metric tonnes'. Despite these frequent minor errors in preposition use and verb tense consistency, punctuation is generally sound, and the errors rarely impede overall comprehension.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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