Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)
The graph compares the average carbon dioxide emmisions per person in the UK, Sweden, Italy and Portugal between 1967 and 2007.
Overall, United Kingdom accounted highest majority in emissions per person in metric tones, while, Sweden starts with rise value than down over the period. However, Italy and Portugal are the third and fourth highest in the graph and they rose steadily starting the period in the CO2 emissions in metric tones.
Firtsly, in 1967 UK had the highest emissions, at approximately 11 tonnes per person followed by sweden at around 8 tones. Italy and portugal produced considerably less with 4 tonnes and 1 tonnes respectively. Therefore, in 1977 UK down dramatically from 11 tonnes to 10 tonnes in 1987 and the downfall continously stop 9 tones at 2007, while, Sweden reached slightly up to 11 tones in next ten year period than down dramatically to 6 tones in 1997 and stuck to around 5 tonnes in 2007.
In contrast, Italy starts with less amount of tonnes than grow up to 7 tonnes in 1987, while, Portugal also increased from 1 tonnes to 4 tonnes in 1987 and reached to around 5 tonnes. Lastly, Italy rose up to around 8 tonnes.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The response attempts to cover all four countries shown in the graph over the specified timeframe, which allows it to address the main parts of the task. However, the development of ideas is limited and mechanical. The overview is weak, containing awkward phrasing and vague generalizations, such as stating that Sweden 'starts with rise value than down over the period'. Furthermore, some of the data reporting is inaccurate or confusingly expressed, such as misinterpreting the starting figure for Portugal or stating that the UK went 'down dramatically from 11 tonnes to 10 tonnes in 1987 and the downfall continously stop 9 tones at 2007'. To improve, the student needs to select the most significant trends more clearly, write a coherent overview without listing raw data points prematurely, and ensure that all figures quoted accurately reflect the visual data provided.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The response shows some basic organization with an introductory sentence, body paragraphs, and an attempted overview placed near the beginning. However, there is no clear overall progression, and the logical flow is frequently disrupted by awkward transitions and confusing sentence arrangements. Paragraphing is poorly handled, as the overview is embedded directly inside the opening section alongside detailed body points. Cohesive devices are used awkwardly or inaccurately, such as the overuse of 'while' and 'however' ('while, Sweden starts with rise value', 'However, Italy and Portugal are...'), leading to mechanical and choppy links between sentences and clauses. To achieve a higher band, the student should ensure a distinct structure with a clear introductory paragraph, a dedicated overview paragraph, and well-linked body paragraphs that guide the reader smoothly through the comparative data without disjointed phrasing.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is limited and barely adequate for the task. The student attempts to use less common vocabulary relating to trends and data reporting, but this results in noticeable errors in word choice, word formation, and spelling. For instance, 'emmisions' is misspelled, and phrases like 'rise value', 'downfall continously stop', and 'less amount of tonnes' demonstrate a lack of precision and awkward collocation. Furthermore, spelling errors such as 'Firtsly' and 'portugal' detract from the quality of the response. To progress to a higher band, the student must expand their range of functional vocabulary for describing data trends (such as nouns like 'decline' or verbs like 'fluctuate') and pay much closer attention to standard spelling and natural collocations.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The grammar demonstrates a very limited range of structures, relying mostly on simple sentences joined by coordinating or subordinating conjunctions. When the student attempts complex sentence forms, they are frequently faulty and ungrammatical, as seen in structures like 'while, Sweden starts with rise value than down over the period' and 'Italy starts with less amount of tonnes than grow up to 7 tonnes'. There are frequent errors in verb tense consistency, prepositions, and sentence construction that cause difficulty for the reader. To improve, the student needs to develop better control over basic sentence architecture, ensure that verbs correctly match their subjects and timeframes, and avoid stringing clauses together without proper grammatical subordination.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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