Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-09-29
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 5.5)
The line graph represents the average carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions produce by per person in the four European nations from 1967 to 2007.
Overall, United Kingdom and Sweden were in downward trend whereas Italy and Portugal were in upward trend. Despite of declining stage, United Kingdom was still the top nation to emission high level of CO2 gas in meric tonnes.
In 1967, United KIngdom was at around 11 metric tonnes of average carbon dioxide emisson per person,falling gradually to nearly 8 metric tonnes for 2007. Furthermore, Sweden who was initially at 8, peaked to its the highest figure around 11 metric tonnes to fall significantally reaching same number with Portugal's top which was just below 6 metric tonnes of emission at the end.
However, there were upward trend with Italy and Portugal, where Italy rose from more than 4 metric tonnes to nearly double its emission below 8 metric tonnes in 40 years time period surpassing Italy. Similarly, Portugal was around 1 metric tonnes in carbon emission at starting but was at appromixetly 5.5 metric tonnes at last same level as of Sweden.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0
The student covers all parts of the task by reporting the main features and making relevant comparisons between the four countries over the 40-year period. An overview is successfully provided in the second paragraph, outlining the overall downward and upward trends. Key data points are accurately cited, such as the UK starting at around 11 metric tonnes and falling to 8.7, and Portugal rising from 1.2 to 5.4. However, there is a minor confusion in the third paragraph where the writer mentions surpassing Italy instead of Sweden, and a slight overgeneralization in the overview. Despite these minor issues, the key information is well-selected and reported, fitting the Band 6.5 to 7.0 range.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The response is arranged logically into four paragraphs, starting with an introduction, followed by an overview, body paragraph one detailing the downward trends, and body paragraph two covering the upward trends. Cohesive devices are used to guide the reader, such as 'Overall', 'In 1967', and 'However'. Paragraphing is handled appropriately to separate the contrasting trends. However, referencing and cohesion are occasionally faulty or mechanical, notably in sentences like 'surpassing Italy' where the referent is confused. Paragraph transitions could be smoother, but overall arrangement remains coherent, aligning well with the Band 6 descriptors.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common items and phrases such as 'downward trend', 'gradually', 'peaked', and 'surpassing'. However, there are noticeable word choice and collocation errors, such as 'produce by per person' instead of 'produced per person', 'to emission high level' instead of 'to emit high levels', and 'metric tonnes' misspelled as 'meric tonnes'. Additionally, 'appromixetly' is misspelled. These errors do not impede communication, but they restrict the lexical score to Band 6.0.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The writer employs a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, incorporating relative clauses ('Sweden who was initially at 8') and prepositional phrases. However, there are several grammatical errors throughout the text, including missing prepositions or articles ('in carbon emission at starting'), awkward verb forms ('produce by per person'), and punctuation errors. Despite these frequent errors in complex structures, communication is rarely impeded, and basic structures are generally accurate. This performance reflects the Band 6 descriptors for grammatical range and accuracy.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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