Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

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

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 graph illustrates about the proportion of common monthly change in the fares if three different metals such as Copper, Nickel and Zinc during 2014.

Overall, Nickel was the costliest metal in starting year which continously falls down in later months. Whereas, Copper and Zinc price are very similar in every month where zinc is the cheapest once among other metals.

Nickel percentage was rosed by 6% in january. while Copper and zinc are at 1% and 2% respectively. In Feburary, Nickel price drop by 2% and Copper by 1%. where Zinc rose by 2%. Afterthat all metal price are continously decreased till June where nickel stands at the cheapest price of all time where all three metals are below zero percentage.

Furthermore, In coming year all metals showed a significant growth in following 3 month where it slighly drop in october where Nickel at -2% and Zinc at -1% and Copper at 0.5%. afterthat, in winter season they all frequently rose and meet at similary percentage betwenn 1 and 2 percentage.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion6.0
Lexical Resource5.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the three metals and include an overview, noting Nickel’s high start and subsequent decline, as well as the broadly similar movement of Copper and Zinc. You also report several relevant figures, including Nickel at 6% in January and its low point in June. However, some key trends are misrepresented: Nickel does not fall continuously until June, since it levels at 1% in March and April and remains positive in May; Copper and Zinc are not below zero in June, when Zinc is -1% but Copper is -0.5% and Nickel is -3%. The claim that all metals rise significantly over the next three months is also inaccurate, especially for Copper. Select the main turning points more carefully and distinguish each series.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and two paragraphs describing the earlier and later months. This gives the reader a coherent overall route through the data. However, progression is weakened by abrupt or unclear links, such as “Afterthat” and “Furthermore, In coming year,” and the final paragraph’s reference to “winter season” is imprecise for a chart covering one calendar year. Some transitions also imply inaccurate relationships, for example saying all metals decreased until June. Use clear time markers such as “From January to June” and “In the final months,” and make sure each sentence connects logically to the figures it describes.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some task-related vocabulary, including “percentage,” “below zero,” “drop,” and “growth,” and the reader can generally identify the intended subject. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate, sometimes making the meaning difficult to follow. For example, “fares” is not appropriate for metal prices, “costliest” suggests absolute price rather than monthly percentage change, and “meet at similary percentage” is unclear. Spelling errors such as “continously,” “Feburary,” and “betwenn” are also noticeable. Build a more precise set of trend terms—such as “monthly price change,” “fell,” “recovered,” and “fluctuated”—and check spelling and collocation.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including a comparison beginning “Whereas” and a time clause with “where.” However, the range is limited, and errors in verb forms, agreement, articles, and sentence boundaries occur often enough to make some statements difficult to interpret. Examples include “Nickel percentage was rosed,” “all metal price are,” and the fragment “where all three metals are below zero percentage.” Capitalisation and punctuation are also inconsistent, as in “january. while” and “Furthermore, In.” Practise forming accurate past-tense descriptions and complete clauses: for example, “Nickel rose by 6% in January, then fell to 4% in February.” Clearer sentence boundaries will help your comparisons read more reliably.

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

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