Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-20

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 5.5)

The line graph illustrates average carbon dioxide emission per person in the United kingdom, Sweden, Itely and Portugal between 1967 and 2007.

Overall, carbon dioxide emission decrease in the Uk and Sweden, Itely and Portugal experience upward trends.The Uk had highest carbon dioxide emissions throughout the period. While Portugal had the lowest emission at the beginning of the period.

In 1967, UK produces about the 11 tonnes carbon dioxide per person. While Sweden produces around about the 8.5 tonnes. UK emissions gradually decrease to about 9 tones in 2007. Sweden emissions incresease aorund to about 10 tonnes in 1977.Then it fell to about 5.5 tonnes.

Itely emssions increase to about 4 tonnes in 1967 to nearly 8 tonnes in 1997. Then Itely emissions remained stable in the 2007. Portugal's emissions rose steadily from around 1 tonnes in 1967 to about 5.5 tonnes in 2007.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the overall contrast accurately: emissions fell in the UK and Sweden, rose in Italy and Portugal, and the UK remained the highest. You also report several useful figures, including the UK’s fall from about 11 tonnes and Sweden’s peak near 10 tonnes. However, the overview is brief and does not mention important comparisons, such as Italy overtaking Sweden by 1987 or Portugal catching up with Sweden by 2007. Some details are incomplete: Italy’s rise is described as starting at about 4 tonnes but its 1987 level is omitted. The response is also six words below the required minimum. Develop the overview and include a few more key comparisons to make the summary more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, an overview and paragraphs describing the figures. The information generally follows the timeline, and the country-by-country approach helps the reader follow the main trends. However, progression is limited because the details are presented mostly as separate statements rather than being compared. The repeated use of “While” to begin sentence fragments—for example, “While Sweden produces around about…”—interrupts the flow, and there is little linking language to show how the countries’ trends relate. Grouping the two declining countries together and the two rising countries together, while using clear comparisons, would create a more coherent progression.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant task vocabulary such as “emissions,” “gradually decrease,” “upward trends,” and “remained stable,” so the main ideas are usually understandable. However, the range is limited and some word choices or forms are inaccurate or repetitive. “Carbon dioxide emission” is repeated where “CO₂ emissions” would be more natural, and “produces” is not the best verb for describing the figures on this graph. Spelling errors such as “Itely,” “incresease,” “aorund,” and “emssions” are noticeable and reduce precision. Aim to use a wider set of accurate trend verbs and check spelling carefully; this will make the report clearer and more appropriate for an academic summary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response attempts both simple and more complex sentence forms, and the overall meaning can generally be followed. However, errors occur frequently in verb forms, agreement, articles and sentence construction. For example, “carbon dioxide emission decrease” needs plural agreement and past tense, while “The UK produces” should use a past form for this historical period. The clauses beginning “While” are incomplete as written, and “from around 1 tonnes” has a number-agreement error. Punctuation is also inconsistent, including missing spaces after full stops. Practise accurate past-tense reporting and combine dependent clauses into complete sentences; these changes would improve control without requiring more complicated structures.

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