Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-10-09

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 average monthly change in the costs of three metals( coppper, nickel and zinc) in 2014.

Overall, nickel had the highest percentage change in january and lowest in december. In contrast, zinc had the lowest change in the beginning of the year and the highest change in december.

The figure for zinc stood at 6% in january then it declined steadily to 1% in march and remained the same upto april. This figure then decreased sharply to -3% in june before it rose to -1% in july and remained the same until september. Finally the percentage grew to 1% in november and remained the same upto december. Copper recorded 2% change in price in january and this number decreased gradually to around -0.5% in june before it grew to 1% in july. It then remained the same upto september and after some fluctuations it rose to around 1.8% in the final year.

Zinc recorded 1% change in january and then grew sharply to 3% in february. It then declined steadily to -1% in june then it grew to around -0.5% in july and remained the same upto september before it declined to 1% in october. Finally it rose sharply to 2% in december and surpassed nickel and copper.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

The response attempts to describe all three metals and includes an overview, but several central figures and trends are assigned to the wrong series, which makes the account only partially accurate. The paragraph beginning “The figure for zinc” actually describes nickel: nickel starts at about 6%, falls to around 1% in March and April, reaches roughly -3% in June, then recovers. The final paragraph, labelled “Zinc,” mostly describes zinc, but its June value is about -1%, not a decline to -1% after a steady fall from March. The overview also says zinc had the lowest change at the beginning, although nickel is highest and copper is lowest in January. Select the main patterns accurately and check each series before reporting details.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

There is some organisation: an introduction is followed by an overview and then descriptions of the metals, with time markers such as “Overall,” “Finally” and “in contrast” helping the reader follow the account. However, progression is weakened by the incorrect labelling of the first detailed paragraph as zinc, followed by another paragraph about zinc. This makes the sequence confusing and obscures which figures belong to each metal. The overview also does not provide a reliable guide to the details that follow. Grouping the information by broad phases—early-year changes, the mid-year fall, and the late recovery—or giving one clearly labelled paragraph per metal would improve the structure. Use linking phrases to show comparisons, not just to list events.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

The response has an adequate range for describing a line graph, including “declined steadily,” “decreased sharply,” “remained the same” and “surpassed.” These choices generally communicate movement clearly, and the writer varies some verbs rather than repeating “went up” and “went down.” There are, however, some inaccurate or awkward choices: “costs” is less precise than “prices” for the graph, and “after some fluctuations” is vague when the final copper movement can be stated more specifically. “The final year” is also an imprecise way to refer to December. Spelling errors such as “coppper” and inconsistent spacing reduce polish. More precise trend vocabulary and careful proofreading would strengthen the range and control.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The response uses a mix of simple and complex forms, including clauses joined with “before” and “then,” and most sentences remain understandable. Some grammatical and punctuation errors persist. The opening has an unclosed parenthesis in “metals( coppper, nickel and zinc),” and the overview uses lowercase “january” and “december.” In “remained the same upto April,” the time expression should be written as two words, while “the final year” does not form a clear time reference. Several long sentences join multiple changes with repeated “then,” so punctuation and clause boundaries could be controlled more carefully. Aim to vary sentence patterns and proofread capitalisation, punctuation and time expressions; these issues do not generally prevent the reader from understanding the intended meaning.

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