Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

The line graph illustrates the monthly change in the prices of three metals (copper,nickel, and zinc) in 2014.

Overall, nickel metal accounted for highest in the initial, then there was a gradual fall. The remaining categories were fluactuated throughout the year.

In the january, nickel metal price was the highest comparing to all the other metals throughout the year with 6%. Following to that, there was a gradual decline and there was a dramatic fall in the month of june where it reached -3% and it rose steadily and climed 1% in the end of the year.

In the beginning, copper and zinc were similar at 2% and 1% respectively. The next month zinc raised suddenly at 3% and slowly it started to decrease and in the middle of the year it reached -1% and there was a fluctuation but again it rose up to 2% at the end.

At last copper dropped slightly and fluatuated through out the year and at the end of the year it was around 1.5%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response successfully covers all parts of the task by reporting the main features and trends of the three metals shown in the graph. The overview is attempted, noting the initial high for nickel and subsequent fluctuation, although it could be more precise. Key features such as nickel reaching 6% in January and dropping to -3% in June are correctly highlighted, along with general comparisons between copper and zinc. However, there are some minor inaccuracies in reading the data, such as stating nickel climbed to 1% at the end of the year when it stayed steady at 1%, and minor omissions in detailing every single fluctuation. Overall, the information selected is relevant and adequately supported.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response is arranged logically with a clear introduction, overview paragraph, and body paragraphs dedicated to different metal trends. Paragraphing is used sufficiently to structure the response. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical or faulty, seen in awkward transitional phrases like 'Following to that' and 'At last copper dropped slightly'. Referencing and logical progression are generally maintained, but the flow between sentences could be smoother with more varied cohesive devices. Overall organisation is coherent enough to follow the writer's comparisons easily.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating terms related to trends such as 'gradual decline', 'dramatic fall', 'fluctuated', and 'rose steadily'. However, there are several noticeable lexical errors and spelling mistakes, including 'fluactuated', 'climed', and 'raised' instead of 'rose'. Less common vocabulary is attempted with some inaccuracy, and word choices occasionally lack precision, such as 'nickel metal accounted for highest'. Despite these errors, communication is not impeded.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several instances of successful complex forms, such as 'there was a dramatic fall in the month of june where it reached -3%'. However, grammatical errors occur frequently throughout the text, particularly with prepositions ('In the january', 'in the end of the year') and verb tense consistency. While these errors do not impede communication, the frequency of inaccuracies prevents the response from achieving a higher band score.

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.