Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-10

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 5.0)

As it is clear from the graph and the lines that some countries are showing a gradual increase like portugal and italy over the time period and some are showing a gradual decrease like UK But in case of sweden there was a massive increse in 1977 but the emission started to decrease gradually at greater extent after that , overall if we see at start uk was havin highest emission percentage after that it was sweden then on third was itay and then at the end portugal ,while Uk was at top in emission of co2 per person and portugal was the last but there has been some changes for some countries but some are still going to the increse of co2 mission so what i think is that it is because some countries took appreciative measurement but some did not like italy and portugal because if you see that in 2007 sweden came at very low emission but italy and portugal are still increasing but the thing here is that portugal and sweden both are having lowest emission at the moment

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify several relevant broad patterns: the UK trends downward, Italy and Portugal rise, and Sweden peaks in 1977 before falling. You also note that the UK begins with the highest emissions. However, the response only partially summarises the graph: it gives no clear, accurate overview of the final rankings and includes unsupported explanations about countries taking “appreciative measurement.” The claim that Portugal and Sweden both have the lowest emissions in 2007 is inaccurate: they are tied at about 5.4 tonnes, while Italy is higher and the UK remains highest. Develop the key comparisons with selected figures and keep the report focused on what the graph shows.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.0

There is some attempt to group the trends and use linking expressions such as “overall,” “after that” and “but.” However, the response is presented as one long, loosely connected sequence, so the reader has difficulty following the comparison from the opening years to the end. Ideas are repeated—for example, the UK being at the top and Portugal being last—and several transitions do not clarify how the points relate. Organise the report into a brief introduction, an overview of the main trends, and a paragraph comparing the countries’ figures. Use clear sentence boundaries and refer to each country consistently rather than relying on repeated “after that” constructions.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The response uses some relevant vocabulary, including “gradual increase,” “decrease” and “emission,” which helps communicate the main trends. However, the range is limited and several noticeable spelling and word-choice errors make parts difficult to read, such as “increse,” “havin,” “itay” and “co2 mission.” Some expressions are also unsuitable or unclear for describing a graph, particularly “appreciative measurement” and “at greater extent.” Use precise terms such as “emissions per person,” “rose,” “fell” and “reached a peak,” and check spelling carefully. Avoid adding evaluative language or explanations that the graph itself does not support.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt to connect ideas using longer sentences and clauses, but these structures are often faulty, and the response contains frequent errors that sometimes make relationships between ideas unclear. For example, the opening sentence joins several complete thoughts without effective punctuation, while “at start uk was havin highest emission” lacks necessary articles and has an unclear grammatical structure. Tense and agreement are also inconsistent, as in “some countries are showing” alongside past-time descriptions. Practise writing shorter, complete sentences first, then add controlled clauses. Use past tense consistently for the period shown, include articles where needed, and punctuate sentence boundaries clearly.

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