Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-10-06

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 5.0)

The line graph illustrates the average monthly change in prices of three metals copper, nickel and inc during the year 2014.

As an overview, Nickel had the highest percent of hike in terms of price for the begining of the year. Whereas, Copper's cost had a slight increase while Zinc also showed a spike but relatively low among other metals.

In Feburary, the Nickel dropped to 4 percent from 6 in a span of 1 month while the Zinc climbed the ladder to 3 from 1. On the other hand, Copper showed a tiny downfall from 2 percent to 1 made it the lowest one in comparison. At the time of March, all Metals hit a price drop making Copper price decreased to around .5 percent, Zinc to 2 percent and Nickel to 1 percent making it the

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0

The response fails to meet the minimum length requirement of 150 words, finishing abruptly at 138 words and cutting off mid-sentence. While the student attempts to summarise the main features of the line graph showing the average monthly change in metal prices, the response only partially addresses the task. The overview is overly generalised and lacks precise data references, and the body paragraphs focus narrowly on the early months (January through March) while failing to cover the rest of the year. Key trends and overall comparisons across the entire twelve-month period are largely absent or underdeveloped, leaving the reporting incomplete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

There is some basic organisation in the essay, with an introductory sentence and the beginning of a chronological breakdown. However, there is no clear overall progression across the text, and the abrupt ending prevents any logical conclusion. Cohesive devices are minimal and sometimes repetitive or awkward, such as starting sentences with 'As an overview' or 'At the time of March'. Paragraphing is partially attempted, but the text is too fragmented to establish a fully coherent structure, resulting in a disjointed flow of information.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is limited and barely adequate for the task. The student relies on basic terms and makes noticeable word choice and spelling errors, such as 'inc' instead of zinc, 'begining', and 'Feburary'. There are also awkward collocations and phrasing, such as 'percent of hike' and 'climbed the ladder'. While some descriptive verbs like 'dropped', 'climbed', and 'downfall' are attempted, the lexical control is weak, and errors in spelling and word form cause occasional strain for the reader.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The text displays a very limited range of grammatical structures, and attempts at more complex sentences are often faulty. There are frequent errors in verb forms, articles, and prepositions, such as 'the Nickel dropped to 4 percent from 6 in a span of 1 month' and the incomplete final clause 'making it the'. Punctuation and sentence boundaries are poorly managed, culminating in an unfinished sentence at the end of the text. These frequent errors disrupt the reading flow and require effort to interpret.

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