Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-06

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 chart illustrates the amount of carbon dioxide a person released in four different countries from 1967 and 2007.

Overall, the Uk has the highest number of carbon dioxide emissions among four countries throughout the given period. Italy and Portugal recorded an upward trend, While the carbon dioxide emissions by British followed a decline. Furthermore, the figure for Sweden fluctuated over the years.

The Uk has approximately 11 metric tonnes carbon dioxide emissions per person in 1967, followed by Sweden at over 8 metric tonnes. The quantity of carbon dioxide released by British decreased steadily to reach just over 8 metric tonnes in 2007. Sweden ranked second, followed a increase intially and reached a peak of more than 10 metric tonnes, after that the figures decreased sharply to reach just below 6 metric tonnes in the final year.

Italy and Portugal showed almost a similar pattern, but Portugal has lower emission rate than Italy, at slightly over 4 and below 2 metric tonnes, respectively.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response successfully addresses all parts of the prompt by presenting an overview and covering the main trends for all four countries. For example, the student correctly identifies that the UK had the highest emissions and that Italy and Portugal saw upward trends. However, some parts are developed more fully than others. The overview contains minor inaccuracies, stating the UK had the highest number throughout when Sweden actually surpassed it in 1977. Furthermore, the details for Italy and Portugal in the final paragraph lack specific figures for the end of the period, presenting only the starting data points. To reach a higher level, all key features and data points should be supported with precise figures and fully extended comparisons across the entire timeframe.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response maintains a coherent overall arrangement with a clear division into an introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs. Information is generally easy to follow, and the progression is logical. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical or faulty. For instance, transitional phrases like "after that" are simplistic, and referencing is occasionally unclear, such as the abrupt shift in the final paragraph comparing Italy and Portugal without sufficient cohesive links to the previous trends. Paragraphing is used, but the internal flow within paragraphs could be smoother. To achieve a higher score, the writer needs to employ a wider range of cohesive devices more flexibly and ensure seamless transitions between sentences and ideas.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The student displays an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common items and descriptive verbs and nouns such as "upward trend," "fluctuated," and "decline." However, there are some noticeable inaccuracies in word choice, collocation, and word formation. For example, writing "followed a increase intially" contains both a spelling slip ("intially") and a grammatical/collocational awkwardness (using active participles incorrectly). Similarly, phrases like "emission rate" and "amount of carbon dioxide a person released" could be more precise. These errors do not impede communication, but to move up to a higher band, the writer must demonstrate greater control over less common lexical items and precise collocations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The writer uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating an attempt at structures like subordinate clauses ("While the carbon dioxide emissions by British followed a decline"). However, there are some persistent errors in grammar, verb forms, and articles. For example, the tense usage shifts inconsistently between present and past ("The Uk has... in 1967"), and there are missing or incorrect articles and prepositions ("the Uk," "followed a increase"). Punctuation also shows occasional slips, such as the mid-sentence capitalization of "While." While these errors rarely impede overall communication, they demonstrate the characteristics of a response where complex structures still contain frequent slips, keeping the score at this level.

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

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