Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-07

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 4.5)

The line graph compares the average carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions per person in the countries such as United Kingdom, Sweden, Italy and Portugal between 1967 and 2007.

Overall, it can be seen that the Portugal country highest emissions carbon dioxide. While the United Kingdom have lowest emission in metric tonnes.

At the initial stage, the Portugal significant fluctuate from 1% to 5% bwtween the 1967 to 2007. However, the Italy which was begin in 1967 and till 2007 it was rise slightly from 4.1% to 7.8%. It is noticeable that the Italy rising marginally over the periods of the metric tonnes.

On the other hand, regarding to the United kingdom which dramatically decline from the year 1967 firtly it was slowly diminished but after go down repidly to until 2007. In addition, the Sweden was the one major country which rose gradually in 1977 after it was plummet in the year 1997 additionally, it was fall to 2007.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response3.5
Coherence and Cohesion4.5
Lexical Resource5.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy4.5
Overall4.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 3.5

The response identifies the four countries and the period, and it attempts to describe trends, but the overview reverses the main picture: Portugal had the lowest emissions at the start and rose, while the UK remained the highest throughout, despite declining. Several details are also inaccurate or unclear. Portugal rose from about 1.2 to 5.4 tonnes, not “from 1% to 5%”; Italy increased from about 4.3 to 7.6, rather than merely rising “slightly”; and Sweden peaked in 1977 before falling, not specifically plummeting in 1997. The response is also two words below the 150-word minimum. To improve, give an accurate overview first, use tonnes rather than percentages, and select key comparisons that reflect the graph.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

There is a basic paragraph structure: an introduction, an overview, and two body paragraphs. The use of “Overall,” “However,” and “On the other hand” shows an attempt to connect ideas and group the countries. However, progression is difficult to follow because the overview is inaccurate and some sentences combine several time points without clear relationships. For example, the Sweden sentence moves from its rise in 1977 to a fall in 1997 and then another fall by 2007, but the sequence is not expressed clearly. The UK paragraph also lacks specific figures to anchor its description. Organise the body by clear trends, and use time markers and comparisons to make each change easy to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The response uses some relevant task vocabulary, including “emissions,” “decline,” “rose,” and “plummet,” and it attempts to describe change over time. However, word choice and collocation are often inaccurate or awkward, which sometimes makes the intended meaning unclear. Examples include “the Portugal country highest emissions carbon dioxide,” “significant fluctuate,” and “was plummet.” The repeated use of “rise” and “fall” also limits precision, while “1%” incorrectly presents the data as percentages rather than metric tonnes. Aim for accurate collocations such as “emissions in Portugal increased” and “Sweden’s figure peaked,” and check spelling, including “between,” “firstly,” and “rapidly.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

The response attempts a mixture of simple and more complex sentences, including a contrast beginning “While” and clauses introduced by “However” and “after.” However, control of sentence structure and verb forms is inconsistent. For example, “the United Kingdom have lowest emission” has agreement and article problems, while “the Italy which was begin” and “after go down” show faulty verb forms and incomplete clause construction. The sentence “At the initial stage, the Portugal significant fluctuate…” also lacks a correctly formed verb phrase. These errors make several statements difficult to interpret. Practise forming complete clauses with a clear subject and verb, and use consistent past-tense forms to report the historical data.

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