Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-04
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 illustrated line graph shows the emission of carbon dioxide per person in four different countries between 1967 and 2007.
The carbon dioxide emission falls in two countries and surged in two countries. But we can a significant decrease carbon dioxide in one country.
The carbon dioxide emission falls in United Kingdom and Sweden. We can see a gradual decrease or carbon dioxide emission in UK. It falls from around 11 metric tones per person to 9 metric tons per person. Once the carbon dioxide emission in sweden increase around the year 1977, but then we can see the decreace as emission of this gas decreases from about 11 metric ton to around 5 metric ton per person.
In the year 1967 Portugal has the lowest emission of carbon dioxide but it surged from around 1 metric ton to around 5 metric ton. In Italy the emission goes from around 4 metric ton to 8 metric ton per person.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0
The response addresses all parts of the task by reporting the main features and trends across the four countries. An overview is attempted, noting that emissions fell in two countries and rose in two. However, some ideas are under-developed or expressed rather simply, such as the statement 'we can a significant decrease carbon dioxide in one country' which contains awkward phrasing and grammatical issues. Key data points are generally accurate, noting the UK's decline from around 11 to 9 metric tonnes and Portugal's increase from 1 to 5 metric tonnes. To reach a higher band, the overview could be more integrated and distinct, and the selection of data could be more fully supported with precise comparisons between the countries throughout the period rather than treating each country in isolation.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The response has a coherent overall arrangement, grouping information logically by country trends. However, the organization suffers from a lack of clear overall progression because the paragraphs are fragmented, with several very short, single-sentence paragraphs. Cohesive devices are used mechanically or are missing, leading to choppy transitions between sentences and ideas. For example, starting sentences repeatedly with 'The carbon dioxide emission falls' or 'We can see' makes the progression repetitive. Referencing is also occasionally unclear, such as the abrupt shift to Sweden with 'Once the carbon dioxide emission in sweden increase...'. To improve, the writer needs to use more sophisticated cohesive devices and ensure paragraphs are fully developed and logically connected.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, successfully conveying basic trends using terms like 'emission', 'gradual decrease', 'surged', and 'metric ton'. There are attempts at less common vocabulary, but these are accompanied by lexical errors such as misspelling 'tonnes' as 'tones' and 'decreace' as 'decreace', as well as awkward collocations like 'surged in two countries' where 'increased' or 'rose' might be more natural. Word choice is sometimes repetitive, relying heavily on the exact phrase 'carbon dioxide emission'. These errors do not seriously impede communication, but they reflect a limited range and occasional inaccuracy which prevents the response from achieving a higher band.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The response employs a mix of simple and some complex sentence forms, such as 'The illustrated line graph shows...' and 'Once the carbon dioxide emission in sweden increase around the year 1977, but then we can see...'. There are frequent errors in grammar and punctuation, including missing articles ('in United Kingdom', 'in sweden'), subject-verb agreement issues ('emission falls... and surged', 'emission in sweden increase'), and awkward prepositional use. Furthermore, punctuation and capitalization are occasionally faulty, such as lowercase 'sweden'. These errors require some effort to parse and place the grammatical control at this level.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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