Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-09-28

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 change in average monthly prices for Copper, Nickel and Zinc in 2014.

Overall , Nickel had a drastic decline from January to Dec , whereas Copper had a slight drop and Zinc saw a modest increase in price. all the thress metals saw its price drop in the month of June and October.

Zinc had its peak price in the month of feb which changed from 1% to 3% and gradually decline month on month untill November where it increased to approx.1.5% and climbing to 2% by Dec.

In contrast, Nickel had a sharp decline from 6% in january and dropping to -3% in June and then increasing to 1 % by December, whereas Copper saw a modest decline from 2% to 1.5% approx. Both Zinc and Copper saw stable ups and downs through out the year and both had the lowest drop in the month of June.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response successfully addresses the main features of the chart by outlining the overall trends for copper, nickel, and zinc across 2014. You provided an overview and highlighted key movements, such as nickel's significant drop and the shared downturn in June. However, there are some inaccuracies in reporting specific figures; for instance, you stated that zinc changed from 1% to 3% in February, whereas the graph shows it rose to 3% from the January figure of 1%. Additionally, stating that nickel had a drastic decline from January to December is slightly misleading since it recovered to 1% by December. Nevertheless, the main comparisons are present and the response is generally adequate for this task.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response is organized into four paragraphs, including an introduction, an overview, and supporting body paragraphs. There is a clear logical progression, and you attempt to use cohesive devices such as 'In contrast' to link contrasting data points. However, paragraphing is slightly disjointed, and referencing can feel repetitive or mechanical (e.g., beginning multiple sentences with 'Zinc had...' or 'Nickel had...'). Cohesive devices are occasionally overused or misused, resulting in some clunky transitions between ideas.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating terms such as 'drastic decline,' 'modest increase,' 'peak price,' and 'sharp decline.' There are, however, some inaccuracies and awkward collocations, such as 'lowest drop' instead of 'largest drop' or 'lowest point,' along with minor mechanical errors like lowercase letters for months and the typo 'thress' and 'untill.' Despite these minor lexical errors, the vocabulary is sufficient to convey the intended meaning.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The essay displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and subordinate structures like 'whereas Copper had a slight drop.' There are several grammatical errors and punctuation lapses, such as missing capitalization ('january,' 'december,' 'feb'), missing articles ('in month of June'), and awkward participial phrases ('and climbing to 2% by Dec'). These errors do not impede communication, but they demonstrate that grammatical control is inconsistent, placing this response solidly at band 6.0.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

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