Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-09-15

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 5.0)

This line graph is illustrating the release of carbon dioxide in metric tones, per person in different countries including United Kingdom,Sweden, Italy, and portugal during 1967 to 2007.In 1967, Portugal had almost 1 metric tone emession of gas per individual.Moreover, amount of gas released by per person rose over the time.By 2007, it had reached to approximate 5 metric tones.Italy also followed the same trend but its initial amount was higher than Portugal's emession rate.Although ,at the begining The United Kingdom had significant concentration of gas emitted by per indiviual,its amount decreased slightly over the time and became roughly 7 metric tones.In 1967,Sweden had approximately 8.5 metric tones of gas exhuasted by every individual,there was seen a sharp rise and emission reached to 11 metric tones.On the other hand in following year emession reduced significantly with time.In 2007 it has fallen to about 5 metric tones.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response covers the main trends in the chart for all four countries, mentioning initial and final points for Portugal, Italy, and Sweden. However, the report is under the 150-word minimum requirement at 146 words, which pulls down the score. Furthermore, there is a minor misreading of the UK trend where the student states it became 'roughly 7 metric tones' in 2007, whereas the chart shows it at approximately 8.7 metric tonnes. The response also lacks a distinct overall overview paragraph, which is essential for a Band 6 or higher in Academic Task 1.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The essay lacks proper paragraphing, as it is written as a single block of text. Cohesive devices are used ('Moreover', 'Although', 'On the other hand'), but the transitions feel somewhat mechanical and abrupt. There is a lack of clear overall progression because ideas are crammed together without separating the countries logically or grouping them by shared trends. Reference pronouns are occasionally unclear, making the reader work harder to follow which country or data point is being discussed.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The student attempts some less common vocabulary such as 'initial amount', 'concentration of gas emitted', and 'exhausted by every individual', but there are noticeable spelling and word-choice errors. For example, 'metric tones' is misspelled (should be 'tonnes'), 'emession' and 'emenge' appear multiple times, and 'exhausted' is an unnatural collocation for CO2 emissions. Despite these flaws, the vocabulary is adequate to convey the basic meaning of the graph.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but grammatical accuracy is weak. There are frequent punctuation and article errors, such as missing articles ('in 1967, Portugal had almost 1 metric tone emission') and comma splices ('every individual,there was seen a sharp rise'). Preposition errors also occur ('reached to approximate 5 metric tones'). While these errors rarely completely impede communication, they occur too frequently for a higher band score.

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

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