Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-09-14

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 6.0)

The line graph illustrates average discharged of carbon dioxide from year 1967 to 2007 in countries such as UK, Italy, Portugal and Sweden. Units was measured in tones.

Overall, UK and Sweden reached highest level in carbon release at the start, which gradually decline after few years. In contrast, the carbon emissions level in Italy and Portugal increase at a consistent pace.

The UK records a peak in carbon emissions at the rate of 11 tons in 1967, which slowely declined to 8.5 tons in 2007. Along with it, Sweden reached 10.5 tons in 1977, which was second highest carbon discharge record at that time, but it was also rapidly declined at 5.5 tons in 2007.

On the other hand, Portugal was the only country among others, which started at 1 ton. In 2007, Portugal with consistent growth reached 5.5 tons which was similar to sweden. Italy also demonstrated a steady growth with a highest level of 7.5 tons in 2007.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response successfully covers all parts of the task by identifying the main trends and making relevant comparisons across the four countries. The overview clearly highlights that emissions in the UK and Sweden decreased over the period, while those in Italy and Portugal increased. Key data points, such as the UK starting at 11 tons and Sweden reaching 5.5 tons in 2007, are accurately selected and reported. However, the development is slightly uneven, and minor inaccuracies exist regarding the exact starting years or figures for some countries. Nonetheless, the task is adequately addressed with a clear summary of the provided graph.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The response is arranged coherently with a logical progression of ideas, divided into a clear introduction, an overview paragraph, and body paragraphs detailing specific country trends. Paragraphing is used appropriately to group information. Cohesive devices such as 'Overall', 'In contrast', 'along with it', and 'On the other hand' are employed to structure the text, although referencing is sometimes slightly faulty, as seen in phrases like 'Along with it'. Overall organization is clear, but cohesion can occasionally feel somewhat mechanical.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common lexical items such as 'gradually decline', 'consistent pace', and 'steady growth'. However, there are noticeable word choice and collocation errors, such as 'average discharged' instead of 'average discharge', 'tones' instead of 'tonnes', and 'slowely' (spelling error). While these errors do not impede communication, they reflect a limited control over precision and spelling, placing the response firmly in the band 6 category.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, incorporating relative clauses and comparative structures. However, grammatical inaccuracies are frequent throughout the response. Examples include tense inconsistencies and verb form errors, such as 'Units was measured', 'emissions level... increase', 'which slowely declined', and 'was also rapidly declined at 5.5 tons'. Punctuation is generally acceptable, but grammatical slips in agreement and passive structures cause occasional distraction for the reader, aligning with the criteria for band 5.5.

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

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