Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)

The given graph illustrates the carbon emissions released by per capita in the United Kingdom, Sweden, Italy and Portugal between the period of 1967 and 2007.

Overall, United Kingdom and Sweden were the highest in the row of releasing carbon dioxide in beginning years, whereas Italy and Portugal were at the lowest point of emitting carbon dioxide in initial year before gradually increasing in later years.

The United Kingdom was the highest producer of carbon dioxide in 1967 by releasing around 11 metric tonne, and it's output started declining gradually in later decades and marked the approximately 8 tonne point in 2007. Portugal, on the other hand, was the lowest carbon emitter in initial year by releasing near 2 tonne and the number kept increasing until 2007 by holding near 6 tonne of CO2.

Sweden was the second highest emitter of the CO2 by emitting near 8 tonne in 1967 by reaching above 10 tonne in 1977, and after gradually declined in later years. Italian's CO2 output fluctuated between 1967 to 2007 , within 4 to 8 tonnes.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response successfully covers all parts of the task by reporting the main trends and making relevant comparisons across the four countries over the given time period. An appropriate overview is provided in the second paragraph, highlighting the contrasting initial and final positions of the nations. Specific data points from the visual information are cited accurately, such as the UK starting at around 11 metric tonnes and falling to 8 in 2007. However, some parts of the response are slightly under-developed or contain minor inaccuracies in feature selection, such as describing Sweden's emissions as reaching above 10 tonnes in 1977 rather than focusing on the more pronounced overall downward trajectory. To move to a higher band, the response would need to extend the support for all key trends with absolute precision while maintaining a fully comprehensive selection of data.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response maintains a coherent overall arrangement with a logical progression from an introductory overview to specific body paragraphs detailing individual country trends. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different groups of nations. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical or faulty, as seen in the transition phrases and referencing, such as 'Portugal, on the other hand, was the lowest carbon emitter in initial year by releasing near 2 tonne and the number kept increasing...' To achieve a higher level of cohesion, the writer should employ a wider variety of cohesive devices more fluidly and ensure that referencing between sentences is consistently clear without relying on repetitive connectors.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common items and lexical phrases such as 'per capita', 'carbon emitter', and 'gradually declining'. However, there are noticeable lexical inaccuracies in word form, collocation, and pluralisation, such as writing 'released by per capita' instead of 'per capita carbon emissions', and referring to 'metric tonne' and 'tonne point' without proper pluralisation or missing articles. Spelling and word choice errors do not impede communication, but they restrict the score. To improve this area, the writer should focus on mastering collocations and ensuring accurate word forms and plurals when handling statistical data.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The response employs a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, attempting relative clauses and time-bound prepositional phrases to connect ideas. There are some errors in grammar and punctuation, such as missing articles ('in initial year' instead of 'in the initial year'), subject-verb agreement issues ('Italian's CO2 output' instead of 'Italy's CO2 output'), and awkward phrasing like 'marked the approximately 8 tonne point'. Fortunately, these errors rarely impede communication. To reach a higher band, the writer must demonstrate greater control over complex sentence structures and eliminate basic grammatical slips regarding articles and possessive nouns.

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

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