Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-15

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 illustrates the Average carbon dioxide emissions per person in 4 countries between 4 decades. overall the fluctuations are seems between 1 to 11 metric tonnes.

In the first half of periods the highest carbon dioxide was released by 11% in United Kingdom and least emission of CO2 at only 1% in Portugal, along with this other 2 countriers Italy and Sweden are standing by just over 4% and roughly 9% respectively.

The Two countries, Portugal and Italy was significantly climbing upto approximately 7 to 8%, similarly there is dramatically increased in 1977 yhen sharply decline after 1977 inof Sweden by same percent of Italy, under 6%. on the other hand there is constant noticable fall in emissions of co2 in United Kingdom grom

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response4.0
Coherence and Cohesion4.5
Lexical Resource5.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy4.5
Overall4.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0

You identify the graph’s subject and mention several relevant patterns, including the UK’s high starting level, Portugal’s low starting point, and rises in Italy and Portugal. However, the report is incomplete and only minimally summarises the data: it ends mid-sentence at “fall in emissions of co2 in United Kingdom grom,” and gives no clear account of the final figures or overall comparison. Some details are also inaccurate or unclear: emissions are measured in metric tonnes, not percentages, and Italy does not rise to 7–8% in the first half. The overview that values fluctuate between 1 and 11 tonnes is too general to capture the main trends. The response is also 24 words below the required minimum, limiting its coverage. Add a complete overview and accurately compare the countries across the period.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

There is a basic attempt to organise the response chronologically, moving from initial levels to later changes, and phrases such as “on the other hand” show an effort to connect comparisons. However, the progression is difficult to follow because the paragraphs do not develop complete stages of the graph, and the final sentence is cut off. Connections between ideas are sometimes unclear: “similarly there is dramatically increased in 1977” does not make clear which country or trend is being compared. Capitalisation and punctuation are inconsistent, and the opening overview is not clearly separated from the details. Use a clear overview paragraph followed by two organised comparison paragraphs, and ensure each sentence is complete and linked to a specific country and period.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant topic vocabulary, including “emissions,” “metric tonnes,” “climbing,” and “fall,” so the reader can recognise that the response concerns changes over time. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations make the meaning imprecise. “Released by 11%” confuses a quantity with a percentage, while “the highest carbon dioxide was released by 11%” is not a natural way to describe the graph. There are also noticeable spelling errors, such as “countriers,” “yhen,” and “grom,” and repeated use of “CO2” and “emissions.” Use accurate measurement language and a wider set of trend verbs, such as “stood at,” “peaked,” “declined,” and “levelled off,” while checking spelling.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

The response attempts to combine ideas in longer sentences, but control is inconsistent and errors frequently make relationships between ideas difficult to understand. For example, “overall the fluctuations are seems” has incorrect verb construction, and “The Two countries, Portugal and Italy was significantly climbing” has subject–verb disagreement and an awkward tense pattern. “There is dramatically increased” also uses an incorrect verb form, while the final sentence is incomplete. Sentence boundaries and capitalisation need attention as well. Practise writing complete, accurate sentences with a clear subject and verb—for example, “Emissions in Portugal and Italy rose substantially”—before adding comparisons with clauses such as “whereas” or “while.”

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.