Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-01

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 the changes in employment figures across four economic sectors in the United States: Manufacturing, Retail, Healthcare, and Agriculture from 1960 to 2020, measured in millions of jobs.

Overall, Healthcare and Retail experienced consistent upward trajectories throughout the 60-year period, with Healthcare exhibiting the most dramatic rise. Conversely, Manufacturing saw initial growth before experiencing a steady decline, while Agriculture remained the smallest employer with a slight downward drift.

In 1960, Manufacturing was by far the largest provider of jobs at 15 million, peaking at 20 million in 1980. However, this sector subsequently contracted, dropping to 17 million in 2000 and eventually falling to 13 million by 2020. In contrast, Retail started at 6 million in 1960 and climbed steadily over the decades, overtaking Manufacturing around 2015 to reach 16 million by the end of the timeframe.

Healthcare began as the smallest sector in 1960 alongside Agriculture, offering only 2 million jobs. Over the following six decades, Healthcare witnessed substantial and uninterrupted expansion, matching Manufacturing at approximately 14 million jobs in 2015 and concluding at 16 million in 2020. Conversely, Agriculture started at 6 million jobs in 1960, dipped sharply to 3 million in 1980, and then slowly diminished to finish at just under 2

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 3.0

The response is largely off-topic, as the student has written about employment figures in the United States across sectors such as Manufacturing and Healthcare instead of reporting the provided visual data regarding carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions per person in the United Kingdom, Sweden, Italy, and Portugal. Consequently, the writing fails to address the actual prompt and the specified data set, resulting in a minimal and completely misdirected task response.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

Despite the severe content mismatch, the response displays an overall coherent arrangement. The text is divided into logical paragraphs with a clear introduction, overview, and body paragraphs. Cohesive devices such as 'Overall', 'Conversely', 'In 1960', and 'However' are used to sequence ideas, although referencing is sometimes tied to entirely the wrong information. Paragraphing is used sufficiently and appropriately, demonstrating some organizational control even though the underlying progression fails to address the actual task prompt.

Lexical Resource: Band 7.5

The student demonstrates a sufficient and flexible range of vocabulary for the task. Less common lexical items are used with good awareness of style and collocation, such as 'upward trajectories', 'exhibiting the most dramatic rise', 'contracted', and 'uninterrupted expansion'. Word choice is generally precise, and there are only occasional minor slips. The vocabulary is well-suited to a report-style writing task, showing a level of lexical control that would be very strong if applied to the correct topic.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 7.0

The response contains a good variety of complex sentence structures with frequent error-free sentences. The student demonstrates good control of grammar and punctuation, handling past tense verb forms ('witnessed', 'dipped', 'climbed') and subordinate clauses effectively. Although the text ends abruptly with an unfinished sentence ('finish at just under 2'), the overall grammatical control is strong, featuring well-constructed phrases and accurate clause coordination throughout the majority of the writing.

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

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