Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-09-30

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 6.0)

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

Overall, it is clear that while zinc experienced an upward trend over the period, both copper and nickel decreased, with nickel witnessing a significant decline.

Looking first at zinc , it started with 1% in January, which increased substantially to 3% in February. After that, there was a steady decline until May, dropping back down to 1%, which then lost 2% in June, reaching -1%. Following this, zinc remained relatively stable until October, climbing to just under 2% in November and then countinued to rise, stopping at 2% in December.

Turning to the remaining categories, a different pattern emerges. Nickel had the highest change in prices at the beginning, having 6%, which continued to decline steadily until May. Following this, it witnessead a plummet, reaching an all-time low of 3%. After that, nickel growed at a steady pace, ending the period at 1%. Moreover, initially, copper had 2%, but that dropped by a minor amount till June, then it climbed by a small amount and stayed around that number until the end, having around 1%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The student covers all parts of the task well, providing an overview and detailing the trends for all three metals. The overview correctly identifies the general trajectory of zinc as an upward trend, though describing copper and nickel as both decreasing overall is slightly inaccurate, as copper ends higher than it starts and fluctuates above zero for most of the year. Specific data points are generally accurate, such as zinc starting at 1% in January and rising to 3% in February, and nickel beginning at 6%. However, there are minor misreadings in the data, such as stating nickel reached an all-time low of '3%' in June when the graph shows -3%, and stating zinc 'lost 2%' when it dropped from 1% to -1%. Despite these minor errors, the main features and comparisons are clearly presented.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response is logically organized with a clear overall structure consisting of an introduction, an overview, and separate body paragraphs for the different metals. Cohesive devices are used reasonably well to guide the reader through the data, with phrases like 'Looking first at zinc', 'After that', and 'Turning to the remaining categories'. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the introduction and overview from the detailed body paragraphs. However, paragraphing within the final body section is slightly cramped, combining nickel and copper into a single dense block of text, which slightly affects the logical flow and progression.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for an Academic Task 1 response, successfully employing terms like 'substantially', 'steady decline', 'relatively stable', and 'plummet'. There are, however, some noticeable word choice and collocation inaccuracies. For example, the student writes 'nickel growed', which uses incorrect morphology, and 'highest change in prices' instead of the highest rate of change or peak value. Additionally, misreading the negative sign on nickel's drop in June ('reaching an all-time low of 3%') impacts precision. The vocabulary is sufficient to convey the main message, but frequent minor errors prevent it from reaching a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response exhibits a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and subordinate structures successfully (e.g., 'while zinc experienced an upward trend over the period, both copper and nickel decreased'). Grammatical control is generally decent, but there are several noticeable errors, such as 'countinued' (spelling), 'growed' (irregular past tense error), 'having 6%' instead of 'at 6%', and missing modifiers. Punctuation has occasional minor flaws, such as the spacing before commas ('zinc , it started'). Despite these errors, the meaning is rarely impeded, and communication remains clear throughout the text.

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

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