Band 8 model answer
A model answer written to illustrate a Band 8 response to this question, with the rubric breakdown and what carries it. Written by us as a teaching example, not a verified exam script.
“The pie chart shows global greenhouse gas emissions by sector in 2020.”8
Overall
8
Task response
8
Coherence & cohesion
8
Lexical resource
8
Grammar
The pie chart illustrates the breakdown of global greenhouse gas emissions by sector in 2020.
Overall, the energy sector was by far the largest contributor, while buildings represented the smallest share. Together, energy and industry accounted for more than half of all emissions.
Energy was the dominant sector, responsible for 34% of total greenhouse gas output. Industry followed as the second largest source, making up 24%, so these two sectors combined contributed 58% of global emissions. Agriculture represented 18% and transport accounted for a further 16%, meaning that these two mid-range sectors together made up just over a third of the total.
By contrast, buildings represented the smallest proportion at just 8%. It is also notable that agriculture and transport, though distinct activities, were remarkably close in their contributions, differing by only two percentage points, while the gap between the largest sector, energy, and the smallest, buildings, was 26 percentage points.
- •Clear overview identifying the dominant sector and the smallest before the detail.
- •Accurate proportion language: 'accounted for', 'making up', 'combined contributed', 'just over a third'.
- •Groups sectors by relative size rather than listing each in isolation.
- •Varied sentence structures with clean, formal register throughout.
- •Could briefly note the combined share of the two smallest segments to strengthen the concluding observation.
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