Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

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

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 graph illustrates the average carbon dioxide (CO2) emission per person in four countries, namely the United Kingdom, Sweden, Italy and Portugal, from 1967 to 2007.

Overall, the UK and Sweden saw a considerable decreased in CO2 emission per person, while Italy and Portugal recorded the significant increased throughout the period. Despite the decrease, the UK remained the highest emitter over the period, whereas portugal retained the lowest emitter until the end of year.

In 1967, around 1 metric tonnes of CO2 per peron was emitted by Portugal, and this figure increased significantly to just over 4 metric tonnes in 2007. Italy recorded the emission of just over the 4 metric tonnes in 1967 to just below the 8 metric tonnes until 2007.

In contrast, the UK accounted for around 11 metric tonnes of CO2 emmision per person in 1967, which decreased steadily throughut the period and reach around 9 metric tonnes in 2007. Sweden, on the other hand, stood just above 8 metric tonnes per person in 1967, which rose just over 10 in 1977. This figure then dropped dramatically untill 2007, around 9 metric tonnes.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You provide a clear overview of the main contrast: emissions fell in the UK and Sweden but rose in Italy and Portugal, and the UK remained the highest emitter. Most figures and broad trends are relevant. However, some key details are inaccurate or under-reported. Portugal did not remain the lowest emitter until the end: by 2007 it was level with Sweden at about 5.4 tonnes. More importantly, Sweden’s final figure was around 5.4, not “around 9”; this misstates its substantial decline. Italy’s emissions levelled off at about 7.6 between 1997 and 2007, rather than simply rising “until 2007.” Report these turning points and endpoint comparisons more precisely to make the summary more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction, an overview, and separate paragraphs describing the lower- and higher-emitting countries. Linking phrases such as “Overall,” “In contrast,” and “on the other hand” help signal comparisons, and the reader can follow the broad progression. This meets the lower-band expectation of coherent organisation and shows some flexibility in connecting ideas. However, the country groupings are not fully effective: Portugal and Italy are discussed together, but their final trends differ, while Sweden’s paragraph ends with a misleading endpoint. Some references, such as “this figure,” require the reader to infer which value is meant. Organise details around clear comparisons and use more precise references to improve progression.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of task-related vocabulary, including “emitter,” “increased significantly,” “decreased steadily,” and “dropped dramatically.” These choices generally communicate the trends, and the meaning remains clear despite some inaccurate or awkward expressions. There are, however, noticeable word-form, spelling, and collocation problems: “a considerable decreased” and “the significant increased” use the wrong forms, while “retained the lowest emitter” is not a natural way to describe the data. Spelling slips such as “peron,” “emmision,” and “throughut” also reduce accuracy. Aim for precise collocations such as “emissions per capita,” “experienced a significant increase,” and “had the lowest emissions,” and proofread carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and more complex sentence forms, including relative clauses (“which decreased steadily”) and contrastive structures (“while Italy and Portugal…”). Most sentences are understandable, and errors rarely prevent the reader from following the main message. Some grammatical errors remain, however. In the overview, “saw a considerable decreased” and “recorded the significant increased” contain incorrect noun forms and article use; “the UK remained the highest emitter” is followed by the incomplete construction “whereas Portugal retained the lowest emitter.” There are also tense and clause-control issues in “Italy recorded the emission … to just below the 8 metric tonnes until 2007.” Use parallel, grammatically complete comparisons and check agreement, articles, and verb forms.

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