Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-11-08

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

The graph below shows the average monthly change in the prices of three metals during 2014.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

Average monthly change in prices of copper, nickel and zinc (2014)

Student answer (Band 5.5)

The line graph illustrates the average monthly change in the prices of three metals Copper,Nickel and Zinc during the year 2014.

Overall, the percentage of change in prices for all three metals fluctuated over the months from january to december.At january, Nickel had the highest percentage of price change and Zinc had teh lowest. Zinc was the only metal which finished higher than its starting month.

Nickel had the highest percentage of change in price compared with previous month in January and it reduced gradually over Febraury and March before being stagnant till April and reducing drastically May to April. It then rose to -1 percentage before being stable for next three months and then seeing a sudden dip after which it had a steep rise to 1 percent in december.

Zinc was the lowest among all in January. However, It rose to 3 percent in februrary before gradually decreasing for 3 months to 1 percent in May

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You identify the graph and report several relevant features, including nickel’s high January figure, its sharp fall, and zinc’s rise in February followed by a decline. However, the response is incomplete: the zinc description stops in May, and copper receives no detailed account. The overview also says zinc was the only metal to finish above its starting point, which is inaccurate: copper also ended higher than it began, while nickel did not. Some figures and timing are unclear, particularly “reducing drastically May to April.” The response is also two words below the 150-word minimum. To strengthen coverage, summarise the full-year pattern for all three metals and check comparisons against the graph.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and separate paragraphs beginning with nickel and zinc. This gives the reader a basic route through the information, and transitions such as “However” and “before” help connect some changes. However, the account does not progress through the full year consistently: the zinc paragraph ends in May, and the nickel sequence contains the confusing phrase “May to April.” The overview’s comparison is also difficult to follow because it misidentifies which metals finished above their starting levels. Complete each series and organise the details in a clear chronological sequence, using paragraphing to cover the overview and the main trends.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant graph vocabulary, including “percentage,” “fluctuated,” “stagnant,” “gradually,” and “steep rise,” so the reader can understand the general subject and some movements. There is some repetition of “percentage of change” and “rose,” and several expressions are imprecise or awkward, such as “reducing drastically May to April” and “had a steep rise to 1 percent.” Spelling errors, including “january,” “Febraury,” and “februrary,” also reduce accuracy. Aim for concise, conventional descriptions such as “fell sharply from May to June” and “recovered to 1% in November.” Proofreading spelling and choosing precise verbs for rises, falls, and stability would make the account clearer.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more extended sentence forms, for example, “It then rose to -1 percentage before being stable for next three months,” and the main sequence of events is generally understandable. However, sentence boundaries and punctuation are not consistently controlled: the introduction runs into the overview without a space after the full stop, and “However, It” incorrectly capitalises the pronoun after a comma. There are also errors in articles and sentence construction, as in “for next three months,” and the phrase “reducing drastically May to April” lacks a clear grammatical relationship between the months. Use complete, carefully punctuated sentences and check articles and prepositions when describing time periods.

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