Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

The graph below shows average carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions per person in the United Kingdom, Sweden, Italy and Portugal between over the 40 years between 1967 and 2007. The scale has 12 levels and different lines represent different country, unit used for measurement is metric ton. For example solid line is for Italy and dotted one is for Portugal. The graph has two axis where x-axis has years & y-axis has CO2 emissions per person in metric tonnes.

UK is the highest on scale with 11 CO2 emissions per person in 1967 but gradually reducing to 9 in 2007. Portugal stands least with score of 1 in 1967 but increasing to 5 in 2007. Italy starts with 4 with a rapid increase, until 1977 within 10 years it raised to 6.2 and ends with 7.8 in 2007. Sweden starts with the score of 9 then a sharp increase to 10.2 in ten years then reduces to 5 in 2007.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

The candidate attempts to cover the main trends in the graph, noting the starting and ending points for the United Kingdom, Portugal, Italy, and Sweden. However, the introduction spends unnecessary time describing the visual mechanics of the graph (e.g., 'The scale has 12 levels and different lines represent different country, unit used for measurement is metric ton') rather than providing a clear, high-level overview. Furthermore, some of the specific data points reported are slightly inaccurate according to the source data (for instance, stating the UK was 11 in 1967 when it was 10.8, and citing Portugal as 1 in 1967 when it was 1.2). While some key features are selected, the overall response lacks a cohesive summary of the overall trends.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The essay is divided into two paragraphs, but the paragraphing is poorly structured. The first paragraph combines the introduction with meta-commentary about the graph's visual layout. The second paragraph attempts to group the countries together but lacks logical sequencing and smooth transitions between sentences. Cohesive devices are minimal and sometimes awkward (e.g., 'UK is the highest on scale with...', 'Portugal stands least with...'). There is no clear overall progression or linking structure guiding the reader through the data comparisons.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is basic and repetitive, heavily relying on simple verbs like 'starts', 'ends', 'reduces', and 'increases'. There are noticeable lexical and collocational inaccuracies, such as 'Portugal stands least with score of 1' instead of 'Portugal recorded the lowest figure at 1.2'. Terms like 'score' are inappropriate when discussing carbon dioxide emissions in metric tonnes. While the range is minimally adequate to convey basic data points, the frequent awkward word choices constrain the response to a lower band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response features a limited range of grammatical structures, relying primarily on simple sentences and participial phrases (e.g., 'gradually reducing to 9 in 2007', 'then a sharp increase'). There are noticeable grammatical errors and awkward phrasings, such as missing articles ('different line represents different country', 'x-axis has years & y-axis has CO2 emissions') and punctuation issues. Complex sentence forms are attempted but often result in faulty syntax or fragments, causing some difficulty for the reader.

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