Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-24

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 illusrates the typical emission of carbon dioxide per peson in the United Kingdom, Sweden, Italy and Portugal between 1967 and 2007.

Overall, all countries had different fluctuations of carbon dioxide emissions throughout the period. Italy and Portugal both increased at the end of 2007 while United Kingdom and Sweden decreased.

In 1967, United Kingdom was the leading country to emit carbon dioxide at 11 metric tones, followed by Sweden at 9 metric tones. In contrast, Italy and Portugal were the least country to release carbon dioxide at 4.2 and 1.2 metric tones, respectively.

During 1997, United Kingdom remained the same, but Sweden reported an increased of 10.2. Similarly, Italy also rose to 6.2 metric tones while Portugal had a steady average. Throughout the years, United Kingdom and Sweden declined significantly at 8.8 and 5.4 metric tones, respectively. In contrast, Italy surpassed sweden by 7.5 while Portugal became equally the same with Sweden at 5.4 metric tones. Despite the fall of United Kingdom it is still the leading country to release carbon dioxide per person.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the four countries and give a relevant opening and overview, noting that Italy and Portugal rose while the UK and Sweden fell. You also correctly show the UK as the highest emitter at both ends of the period and report several broadly accurate figures. However, the overview is imprecise: Italy and Portugal did not simply increase “at the end”; their rises occurred across much of the period, and Italy levelled off from 1997 to 2007. The account of 1997 is also inaccurate: the UK was about 9.5 tonnes, not unchanged, Sweden was about 6.1 rather than 10.2, and Portugal was about 5.2 rather than steady. Select and compare the main trends more accurately and develop the middle-period changes.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, an overview and two detail paragraphs, and the information is generally grouped by time and comparison. Linking expressions such as “In contrast,” “Similarly” and “Throughout the years” help signal relationships. However, progression is weakened by the unclear shift from the 1967 figures to “During 1997,” followed by a jump to the end of the period. The phrase “During 1997” also introduces figures that do not match that year, making the sequence harder to follow. Some comparisons are crowded into the final paragraph, and references such as “it” in the final sentence could be clearer. Organise the details chronologically and use more precise transitions between years.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use a suitable range of topic vocabulary, including “emissions,” “declined,” “surpassed” and “metric tonnes,” and the meaning is generally clear. There are also attempts to vary wording, for example “release carbon dioxide” and “leading country.” However, several choices are inaccurate or unnatural for describing a graph: “typical emission” is less suitable than “average emissions,” and “different fluctuations” is vague. “The least country” and “became equally the same” are awkward expressions, while “metric tones” contains a spelling error. These issues do not prevent understanding, but they limit precision and naturalness. Aim for standard collocations such as “the lowest figure,” “rose to” and “was equal to,” and check spelling carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mixture of simple and more complex sentences, including comparisons introduced by “while” and “although”-type contrast. Most of the message remains understandable, but errors in sentence structure and grammatical forms are noticeable. For example, “United Kingdom was the leading country” needs an article, and “Italy and Portugal were the least country” has a number-agreement problem. In “Sweden reported an increased of 10.2,” the noun form and sentence construction are faulty; “an increase to” would be grammatical. The sentence beginning “Despite the fall of United Kingdom it is still…” also needs an article and clearer punctuation. Practise accurate articles, plural forms and comparison structures while retaining your attempts at complex sentences.

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