Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-09-17
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 chart illustates emission of Carbon dioxide per person among 4 countries between the period 1967 to 2007.
Overall Italy and Portugal experienced growth in average emission per person while the United Kingdom and Sweden experienced decline.
The given information clearly highlights that emission per person has remained highest throughout the period in United Kindom despite decline in average emission per person from above 10 to nearly 7 metric tonnes. Whereas Sweden experienced flactuating trend, starting from 8 metric tonnes to its peak of around 10 in 1977, followed by a continuous declining trend leading to below 5 metric tonnes in 2007. Italy and Portugal experienced continuous growth, double the emission in former from 4 to around 8 metric tonnes while highest growth observed in latter from below 2 to above 5 metric tonnes. After continuous growing trend for around 3 decades both the countries observed a platue after 1997 till 2007.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 6.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 6.0 |
| Overall | 6.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0
The student successfully addresses all parts of the task by identifying the main trends and making relevant comparisons across the four countries over the 40-year period. An appropriate overview is provided, noting the divergence between the UK/Sweden (declining emissions) and Italy/Portugal (increasing emissions). Key features are accurately reported, such as the UK maintaining the highest emissions throughout and Portugal showing significant growth from a low base. However, there are minor inaccuracies in some specific figures (e.g., stating the UK declined to 'nearly 7' when it reached 8.7, and misreading the final values for Italy and Portugal slightly). Despite these minor data discrepancies, the response covers the core requirements well, earning a solid Band 6.5 to 7.0.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The response features a clear overall progression, moving from an introductory statement to an effective overview, followed by detailed body information. Cohesive devices are used to link ideas (e.g., 'Overall', 'Whereas', 'followed by'), though some transitions feel slightly mechanical. Paragraphing is adequately managed, separating the introduction/overview from the main body details, though condensing the text into two distinct body paragraphs would have improved readability. Referencing is generally clear, though the flow between sentences in the final paragraph becomes a bit dense. This performance aligns well with Band 6.5 descriptors.
Lexical Resource — Band 6.0
The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary range for the task, attempting less common lexical items such as 'fluctuating trend', 'continuous declining trend', and 'platue' (plateau). However, there are several spelling and word-choice errors, such as 'illustates' spelled as 'illustraters' or 'illustates' with minor typos, 'flactuating' instead of 'fluctuating', 'platue' instead of 'plateau', and missing articles ('in United Kindom'). Despite these errors, communication is not impeded, and the vocabulary is sufficient to convey the trends and comparisons adequately, fitting the Band 6 descriptor.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0
The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, using participial phrases and relative clauses effectively in places (e.g., 'starting from 8 metric tonnes to its peak... followed by a continuous declining trend'). Grammatical errors are present, including missing prepositions, omitted articles ('in United Kindom', 'in former', 'in latter'), and minor agreement issues. However, these errors do not impede overall communication. The punctuation is generally functional, and the structural variety supports a Band 6.0 rating.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.