Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-22

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

Overall, it is evident that United kingdom accounted for the highest figure and Portugal accounted for the lowest figure in Average carbon dioxide emissions per person.

To begin with, Portugal stood at 1.2 in 1967, After it rose to 5.5 in 1997, and than remained stable.

Furthermore, Italy roughly started at 4.2 metric tonnes and than climbed to 6.3 metric tonnes in 1977, Moreover, than it increased swiftly and reached to 7.8 metric tonnes in 1997. In addition, it remained the same till 7.8 metric tonnes by 2007.

Similarly, Sweden was approximately recorded at 8.3 metric tonnes in1967 and than climbed to 10.2 metric tonnes in 1977. Afterwards, it dropped below the level of Italy. Additionally, United Kingdom represented approximately 10.4 metric tonnes in 1967 and than decreased to 8.4 metric tonnes in 2007.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the graph’s subject and give an overview that the UK was highest and Portugal lowest, which captures an important broad comparison. You also report several relevant figures and trends, including Sweden’s rise to a peak in 1977 and the UK’s overall decline. However, the overview is incomplete: Portugal did not remain the lowest throughout, and by 2007 it had caught up with Sweden at about 5.4 tonnes. Some details are inaccurate or unclear: Portugal reached about 5.2 in 1997, not 5.5, and Italy rose to about 6.7 in 1987 before reaching 7.6 in 1997. The response is also four words below the 150-word minimum; the 11 words copied from the prompt were not counted. Include the missing comparisons and complete the summary.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and paragraphs describing the countries’ figures. This gives the reader a basic route through the information. However, progression within the detail is sometimes difficult to follow because several linking expressions are used mechanically or inaccurately. For example, “Moreover, than” and “In addition” connect successive points about Italy without clarifying their relationship, while “Afterwards, it dropped below the level of Italy” does not specify when this happened. Capitalisation and punctuation also interrupt the flow, as in “1967, After” and “1977, Moreover.” Grouping the countries by shared trends, then using clear time references and fewer, more precise connectors, would make the comparisons easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant topic vocabulary, including “emissions,” “metric tonnes,” “climbed,” “dropped,” and “remained stable,” so the main trends are generally understandable. The range is nevertheless limited, and some word choices or collocations sound unnatural or imprecise. For instance, “accounted for the highest figure” is less natural than saying the UK had the highest emissions, and “reached to” is not the usual construction with “reached.” Repeated use of “than” and “increased” also limits variety. Aim for precise trend language such as “peaked at,” “declined steadily,” and “overtook,” while checking that each phrase fits the data. These improvements would make the description more fluent and accurate without requiring overly complex vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and longer sentences, and most of the intended comparisons can be understood. However, errors recur in sentence construction, punctuation, and grammatical forms. Examples include “After it rose to 5.5 in 1997, and than remained stable,” where the clause structure is faulty, and “it increased swiftly and reached to 7.8,” which combines an incorrect verb pattern with an unnecessary preposition. Several sentences also join clauses with commas, as in “Portugal stood at 1.2 in 1967, After it rose…”. Use a full stop or a correctly formed conjunction, and practise past-tense sequencing with “then” rather than “than.” More accurate sentence boundaries and verb patterns would improve control while preserving your attempts at varied structures.

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