Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-05

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 line graph illustrate the average release of carbon dioxide per person of 4 countries in Europe from 1967 to 2007.

Overall, From 1967 to 2007, United Kingdom was dominant in carbon dioxide emissions even though they reduced their emissions. In Portugal and Italy, the carbon dioxide emissions was least among the 4 countries, but over the years it rapidly increased. Among the 4 countries, Sweden was able to sustain carbon emissions the most claiming the last position along with Portugal from 2nd position.

In 1967, the emissions of carbon dioxide from United Kingdom and Swede was approximately 10.9 and 8.5 metric tonnes, respectively. Both countries were able to reduce carbon emissions in 2007 but United Kingdom still had the most carbon emissions, while Sweden substantially decreased the number to approximately 4.5 metric tonnes becoming least emitter.

The carbon emissions in Italy and Portugal increased rapidly in between 1967 and 2007. Still Portugal was able secure its last position along with Sweden though Italy climbed to 2nd position by emitting 7.8 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response provides an overview with some main trends, but it is marred by inaccuracies in reporting the data and generalisations that do not fully match the graph. For instance, the writer states that Portugal and Italy had the least carbon emissions among the four countries throughout, which ignores that Portugal started well below Sweden in 1967. Furthermore, the final figures reported, such as Sweden becoming the 'least emitter' at approximately 4.5 metric tonnes and Italy at 7.8 metric tonnes, contain some errors compared to the actual visual data where Portugal and Sweden ended closely together at around 5.4 metric tonnes. While all countries are mentioned, the ideas are somewhat limited and under-developed, and the overview lacks precision in selecting and reporting the most salient comparative features.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has an overall structure with an introduction, body paragraphs, and a concluding overview. However, the logical progression is occasionally hindered by imprecise referencing and somewhat mechanical cohesive devices, such as repeatedly using 'In Portugal and Italy' or 'Still Portugal'. Paragraphing is attempted, but the grouping of information is not fully cohesive, leading to a disjointed flow of ideas. For example, the transition between discussing Sweden's decline and Italy's rise lacks smooth connecting language. Referencing pronouns such as 'they' in 'even though they reduced their emissions' creates slight ambiguity regarding whether it refers to the UK as a nation or the emissions themselves.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common lexical items such as 'dominant', 'sustain', 'substantially', and 'secure its last position'. However, there are noticeable word choice and collocation issues, such as 'sustain carbon emissions the most claiming the last position' and 'becoming least emitter', which sound unnatural. There are also minor spelling and slip errors, such as 'Swede' instead of 'Sweden' and 'illustrate' instead of 'illustrates' (though verb agreement is technically a grammar issue, the lexical choice of base verb forms reflects a broader vocabulary control issue). These inaccuracies do not severely impede communication, but they prevent the writing from achieving a higher level of precision and style.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response demonstrates a mix of simple and some complex sentence forms, such as 'even though they reduced their emissions' and 'while Sweden substantially decreased the number'. However, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with subject-verb agreement ('The line graph illustrate'), missing articles ('per person of 4 countries'), and awkward prepositions or phrasing ('in between 1967 and 2007', 'the carbon dioxide emissions was least'). These errors require some effort from the reader to parse, though they rarely obscure the overall meaning entirely. The limited control over complex structures and persistent basic errors place this aspect of the writing at the mid-level.

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