Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-16

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 6.5)

The graph illustrates the typical release of carbon dioxide per capita in the United Kingdom, Sweden, Italy and Portugal during forty years.

overall, it is clear that four countries represents contrasting trends per capita in emissions of carbon dioxide, United Kingdom and Sweden declined over the time period while Italy and Portugal saw a upward steady increase.

In 1967,United Kingdom had the highest per capita carbon dioxide emissions approximately 11 metric tones. This figure remains stable until 1997 afterwards it shows a steady decline in 2007. Sweden started as the second highest emitter in1967, its emissions peaked significantly in 1977 before starts decreasing for remaining period.

In contrast, both countries saw continues rise in emissions per capita. In start Italy's per capita begins at 4 matric tones in 1967 then gradually increased to 8 metric tones in next four decades and crossed Sweden around 1987. Portugal started with a low range of emissions as compared to other countries at approximately 1%.than showed a considerable increase reaching about 5.5 metric tones in 1997 and remains stable around 2007.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

You identify the main overall contrast accurately: emissions fell in the UK and Sweden, while Italy and Portugal rose. The key comparisons are also supported with relevant figures, including the UK’s highest starting level, Sweden’s 1977 peak, and Italy overtaking Sweden around 1987. Your account of Portugal’s rise and later levelling is broadly consistent with the graph. This gives a clear, relevant summary of the main features. To make the reporting more precise, avoid saying the UK “remains stable until 1997”: it declines gradually from about 10.8 to 9.5 over that period. Also, Portugal reaches about 5.2 in 1997 and remains near 5.4 in 2007, rather than reaching 5.5 in 1997 and staying unchanged. The overview could distinguish the countries’ final levels more clearly.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, an overview, and two paragraphs grouping the declining and rising countries. This makes the main comparisons easy to follow, and transitions such as “In contrast” help signal the shift between groups. The organisation is coherent, but some links and references are not fully controlled. For example, “both countries saw continues rise” follows a paragraph about the UK and Sweden, so the intended reference to Italy and Portugal is momentarily unclear. The final sentence also joins several stages with “than” and “and,” making the sequence less smooth. Use clearer topic sentences and connect each figure directly to its country and time period to achieve more consistently logical progression.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use a reasonable range of task-related vocabulary, including “per capita,” “emissions,” “peaked,” “decline,” and “considerable increase.” These choices communicate the main trends, and the meaning is generally clear. However, several word-choice, collocation, and spelling problems reduce precision: “typical release” is less natural than a phrase such as “average emissions,” “a upward steady increase” is awkward, and “low range of emissions” does not accurately describe a level. There are also spelling errors in “tones,” “matric,” and “continues.” Aim for accurate, natural collocations for describing data, and check spelling carefully. More precise trend vocabulary would help distinguish a gradual rise, a peak, a decline, and a plateau.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including comparisons and time clauses, and the reader can generally understand the trends. However, errors in agreement, verb forms, articles, and sentence boundaries occur across the response. Examples include “four countries represents,” “before starts decreasing,” and “both countries saw continues rise”; these should be revised to match the subject and grammatical structure. The opening of the overview should also begin with a capital letter, and spacing after commas is inconsistent, as in “In 1967,United Kingdom.” Some sentences combine several ideas without clear punctuation, particularly the final sentence. Practise checking each sentence for a clear subject and correctly formed verb, then use full stops or conjunctions to separate stages of the data.

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