Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-12

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 7.0)

The line chart compares the average amount of carbon dioxide per capita in four European countries from 1967 to 2007.

Overall, while the United kingdom and Sweden experienced decrease in emission per person, Italy and Portgual saw signficant increase. Dispite the downward trend, the UK recorded the highest emissions throught the forty-year time period.

In 1967, the UK led with around 11 metric tonnes emissions per person, which decrease gradually to just under 8.5 tonnes by 2007. Sweden initially witnessed a sharp rise from 8.5 tonnes to just over 10 tonnes. However, this was followed by rapid decline, ending at roughly just 5.5 tonnes in the final year.

Conversely, CO2 emissions in Italy and Portgual grew steadily, Italian emissions started with just over 4 tonnes in 1967 and rose before plateauing at around 7.8 tonnes from in 1997 to onwards. Similarly, Portugual started lowest at just over 1 tonne, but climbed consistently to meet Sweden's levels of 5.5 tonnes in 2007.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 8.0

The response covers the main features accurately and gives a clear overview: emissions fell in the UK and Sweden, rose in Italy and Portugal, and the UK remained the highest throughout. The country-by-country comparisons are supported with relevant figures, including Sweden’s rise before its decline and Portugal’s convergence with Sweden by 2007. Italy’s increase and later plateau are also identified. These details make the report well developed and closely aligned with the chart. One small precision issue is that Italy is described as plateauing at “around 7.8 tonnes”; the chart indicates approximately 7.6 tonnes in both 1997 and 2007. This is a minor approximation rather than a significant misreading. To strengthen the report further, keep numerical descriptions consistently close to the plotted values.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.5

The response is organised effectively into an introduction, an overview, and two detail paragraphs. Its progression is easy to follow: the first detail paragraph covers the two declining countries, while the second groups the two rising countries. Linking expressions such as “Overall,” “However,” “Conversely,” and “Similarly” help signal relationships between trends. This is clear, flexible organisation, though cohesion is not entirely smooth in places. For example, “rose before plateauing at around 7.8 tonnes from in 1997 to onwards” interrupts the flow, and the final comparison could be connected more precisely to the preceding sentence. Aim for cleaner phrasing and avoid stacking transition words where a direct sentence would be clearer.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

There is an adequate range of task-relevant vocabulary, including “per capita,” “gradually,” “sharp rise,” “rapid decline,” “plateauing,” and “climbed consistently.” These choices help distinguish the different patterns rather than repeating only basic verbs. However, some word-choice and collocation errors limit precision: “amount of carbon dioxide per capita” is less natural than “emissions per person,” and “11 metric tonnes emissions” is awkwardly formed. Spelling slips such as “Portgual,” “signficant,” and “Dispite” also detract from control. The meaning remains clear, but more accurate collocations and careful proofreading would make the vocabulary more fluent and precise.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

The response uses a mix of simple and complex structures, including a concessive overview sentence beginning “while” and clauses introduced by “which” and “but.” Most relationships between ideas remain understandable, and errors rarely obstruct the message. Some grammatical inaccuracies are nevertheless present. In “the UK … emissions … which decrease gradually,” the verb form should be “decreased”; “Sweden initially witnessed a sharp rise … However, this was followed by rapid decline” needs an article before “rapid decline”; and “from in 1997 to onwards” has an incorrect prepositional construction. There is also a missing article in “experienced decrease.” Review tense consistency for past data, article use, and prepositions, while retaining the varied sentence structures already attempted.

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