Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-08

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 metrics graph illustrates average carbon dioxide emissions per person in different countries from 1967 to2007.

Overall, United Kingdom remain the top country in consumption of CO2 while it ratio decline gradually during the mentioned tenure. On the other hand Portugal and italy was emitting least co2 which significantly increases with time. the ratio of emisssion in sweeden fluctuate in early tenure but later it continiously dropped.

Sweeden was 2nd largest country with approximately producing more than 8 tonnes of co2. The ration kept on increasing and reached more than 10 tonnes by 19977 but it fall significantly and by 2007 it was emitting less than 6 tonnes of co2. Similarly, United states was emitting more than 10 tonnes of co2 and the amount remain constant for 10 year, However it gradually decreases to less than 8 tonnes by 2007.

Italy was emitting no co2 in 1967 but the numbers increases significantly and by 2007 it was em

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0

The response identifies some broad trends, including the UK’s generally high emissions and Sweden’s rise followed by a decline. However, the report is only minimally successful in summarising the graph because several key details are inaccurate or missing. The UK remained the highest-emitting country in 2007, at about 8.7 tonnes, not below 8; Italy began at about 4.3 tonnes, not zero; and the United States is not shown in the graph. The final sentence is also cut off, so Italy’s later trend is not reported, while Portugal’s substantial rise is mentioned only generally. To improve, give a clear overview of the main comparisons and accurately describe all four countries’ trends.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

There is an attempt to organise the response into an overview and detail paragraphs, and linking expressions such as “Overall,” “On the other hand” and “Similarly” help signal relationships. However, progression is difficult to follow because the country-by-country account is incomplete and the final paragraph ends abruptly. The overview groups Portugal and Italy together as the lowest emitters, but the details do not then explain Portugal’s figures, and the paragraph about Sweden shifts to the United States, which is not part of the chart. Some connections between sentences are also unclear. A more coherent structure would present the overview first, then compare the UK and Sweden, followed by Italy and Portugal, with each paragraph completing its comparison.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The response uses some relevant topic vocabulary, including “emissions,” “gradually,” “fluctuate” and “significantly increases,” so the reader can recognise the general subject and some trends. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate, such as “top country in consumption of CO2,” “its ratio,” and “was 2nd largest country with approximately producing.” Repeated use of “emitting” and “co2” also makes the description less precise, while spelling errors such as “Sweeden,” “continiously” and “emisssion” are noticeable. Use standard graph language such as “recorded emissions,” “per-capita figure” and “rose to,” and check spelling and collocations carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response attempts both simple and longer sentences, including a contrast in “The ratio kept on increasing … but it fall significantly.” However, errors in verb forms, agreement, articles and sentence boundaries are frequent and sometimes make the meaning harder to follow. Examples include “United Kingdom remain,” “Portugal and italy was emitting,” and “the amount remain constant”; these require appropriate subject–verb agreement and past-tense forms. The sentence beginning “Overall” also has unclear pronoun reference in “its ratio,” and punctuation is inconsistent, particularly in “However” after a comma. Build accuracy by using consistent past tense for the historical data and checking each sentence for a clear subject, verb and complete ending.

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