Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-09-24

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 4.5)

The prices of metals have passed with a lot of changes in 2014. Beginning with January, Nickel was the highest in price then the copper and the last one is the zinc. From February to Mars the ,the Nickel prices drop down to achieve 1% .Similarly, the copper shows the same changes which reach 0.5 on April 2014. In the other hand the zinc prices have multiple states. His value increase by 3% on February compared with the previous month. From the middle of February to May, his price decreased by 3%. From June, this three metals have a little of price progress but they stabilize during three months. From november ,copper ,nickel and zinc prices reaches respectively 1.8% ,1% and 0.9 % compered to October's prices. By the end of the year the zinc becomes the more valuable metal ,the copper surpasses the Nickel which stayed at the same price.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

The student attempts to describe the line graph showing the average monthly change in prices for copper, nickel, and zinc in 2014, but the response falls short in several areas. While some trends and figures are mentioned, such as nickel starting at 6% in January and dropping later in the year, there are notable inaccuracies and misreadings of the data. For example, the writer claims that 'zinc prices have multiple states' and misinterprets the overall trajectory of the metals. Furthermore, the response lacks a clear, cohesive overview of the main trends, attempting instead to narrate month-by-month details with frequent confusion. Ideas are under-developed, and the conclusion contains unsupported statements that do not match the visual data. This places the response firmly at Band 4.5.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.0

The response shows a basic attempt at organization, but the overall progression of information is difficult to follow. The text is presented as a single dense paragraph rather than structured paragraphs separating the introduction, body details, and overview. Cohesive devices are used awkwardly or incorrectly, such as 'In the other hand' instead of 'On the other hand', and pronoun referencing is often confusing (e.g., 'His value increase'). Sentences tend to jump between different time periods and metals without a logical flow, making the relationships between data points obscure. Paragraphing is absent, further hindering readability. These issues reflect the descriptors for Band 4.0.

Lexical Resource: Band 4.5

The vocabulary used is basic, repetitive, and occasionally imprecise for an academic task. The student relies heavily on simple terms like 'changes', 'prices', and 'value' rather than more sophisticated vocabulary suited for describing data trends (e.g., fluctuation, percentage, surge, decline). There are noticeable word choice and collocation errors, such as 'passed with a lot of changes' instead of 'experienced significant fluctuations' and 'price progress' instead of 'upward trend'. Spelling and grammatical forms of words also show strain, such as 'Mars' instead of 'March'. While the vocabulary is minimally adequate to convey a basic topic, frequent lexical inaccuracies restrict the score to Band 4.5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.0

The student demonstrates a very limited range of grammatical structures, relying primarily on simple sentences with frequent structural errors. There are numerous grammatical inaccuracies that impede communication and create confusion, such as tense inconsistencies ('prices have passed', 'Nickel was the highest... then the copper and the last one is the zinc'), missing pluralizations ('this three metals'), and subject-verb agreement errors ('copper, nickel and zinc prices reaches respectively'). Punctuation and capitalization are also faulty in places, such as mid-sentence capitalization and spacing errors around commas. Because complex structures are either absent or systematically faulty with frequent errors, the grammar aligns with Band 4.0.

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