Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-27

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, Italy and Portugal between 1967 and 2007

Overall in the 40 years, the UK is slightly decrease, while Sweden is rose at starting 10 years after it is fell down. Italy and the other countries are started at lowest metric tonnes after soem years it is simply raising year by year.

In 1967, 11 tonnes of CO2 is emited by the person in UK and it is slightly equal after 10 years and the year 2007 it fell down at 9 tonnes. Sweden started at 9 tonnes and increased at 10 tonnes in year 1977 after that accounted 5 tonnes in the year 2007.

Italy and Portugal are started the lowest place in this line graph, Italy took a break at partucal year and raised at the year 2007 at more than 9 tonnes, while Portugal also same as Italy it is rose at 1 tonn to 5 tonn.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the four countries and the overall contrast between the UK’s decline and the rises in Italy and Portugal. Several key figures are also broadly accurate: the UK falls from about 11 to 9 tonnes, and Sweden peaks at around 10 in 1977 before declining. However, the overview is unclear and includes an inaccurate claim that Italy and Portugal both started at the lowest level; Italy began above Portugal. More importantly, Italy did not rise to more than 9 tonnes: it levelled off at about 7.6. The response also omits the important comparison that Italy overtook Sweden and nearly matched the UK by the end. Select the main trends accurately and support them with clearer comparisons.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic structure: an introduction, an overview, and paragraphs describing the figures. This gives the reader some organisation, and the country-by-country grouping is relevant. However, progression is difficult to follow because several sentences combine trends without clear relationships, such as “Sweden is rose at starting 10 years after it is fell down.” Linking phrases such as “after that” are repeated, while references like “the other countries” and “it” do not always make clear which country is meant. Separate the overview from the detailed comparisons, then group countries with similar or contrasting trends. Use precise country names and a small range of accurate connectors to make the sequence easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some task-relevant vocabulary, including “line graph,” “increased,” “fell,” and “tonnes,” so the general subject is understandable. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate, which sometimes makes the trends hard to interpret. For example, “Italy took a break” does not clearly describe its levelling off, and “slightly equal” is not a natural way to express that the UK figure remained almost unchanged. There are also spelling and word-form errors, including “emited,” “soem,” “partucal,” and “tonn.” Build a more precise set of trend expressions and check spelling, especially for key terms used to report data.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response attempts both simple statements and longer sentences, but control is inconsistent, and errors occur frequently enough to make some relationships difficult to understand. Examples include “the UK is slightly decrease,” “Sweden is rose,” and “Italy and the other countries are started,” where verb forms and sentence structure are faulty. Articles and prepositions are also often missing or misplaced, as in “in year 2007” and “at 9 tonnes.” Punctuation is limited, including the missing full stop after the opening sentence. Practise accurate past-tense forms for the historical data, and build clear sentences around a subject and verb before adding comparisons or time phrases.

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.