Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-10-23

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 how the average monthly prices of three different metals change over the months in 2014.

Overall, the prices declined for all three metals with nickel experiencing the largest fall from being the most expensive to the least, by the end of the year, whereas zinc saw a slight increase. However, copper saw some fluctations but had almost the same price by December.

In January, Nicker was the most epensive metal with a rise of 6% from the previous month which fell by 5 percentage points by March. The figure remained stable for two months before plummeting by 3% in June, crossing Copper's monthly price. From July to August all three experienced no change in prices. After that Nickel rose by 3% percentage points and stood at 1% till Dcemeber.

Moving onto remaining part of the data, both copper and zinc started with the change of 2% and 1% ,respectively.Copper gradually decreased over the early five months till June by 2.5% and then rose by 1.5%, ending by a slight increase of 0.5 percentage points in December. Zince followed an opposite trend as it rose to its highest by 3% in February after which it fell consistently through june and then rose again in the last three months and stood at 2%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the main overall pattern and include relevant comparisons, especially nickel’s sharp fall and zinc’s recovery late in the year. However, the overview is not fully accurate: nickel does not finish as the least expensive in terms of monthly change; it ends at about 1%, while copper is around 1.5% and zinc 2%. The claim that all three declined also overlooks their late-year rises. Several details need correction or clearer reporting: copper starts at 2%, not the same starting figure as zinc at 1%, and its December value is about 1.5%, not 0.5%. The account covers all three metals, but some key comparisons and figures are unclear or misreported, limiting the completeness of the summary.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear four-part structure: an introduction, an overview, and two paragraphs describing the data. The progression from nickel to copper and zinc is easy to follow, and phrases such as “Overall,” “After that,” and “Moving onto” help signal shifts. This coherent organisation meets the lower-band expectations and shows some ability to guide the reader through the graph. To make the progression more consistently effective, group information by shared trends or time periods and use more precise links between comparisons. For example, “From July to August all three experienced no change” is confusing because the lines do not all remain unchanged across that interval. Some transitions feel formulaic, and the final paragraph combines two series without consistently distinguishing their movements.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use a reasonable range of graph vocabulary, including “remained stable,” “plummeting,” “gradually decreased,” and “opposite trend,” which helps describe movement rather than simply list figures. The meaning is generally clear, but several word-choice, collocation, and spelling problems reduce precision: “prices” is used where the graph shows monthly percentage changes, “rise by 3% percentage points” is awkward, and “Nicker,” “epensive,” “Dcemeber,” and “Zince” are misspelled. “Ending by a slight increase” is also not a natural way to describe the final value. Aim for accurate terms such as “monthly price change” and “rose by three percentage points,” and proofread carefully so that errors do not distract from otherwise suitable vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

There is a mix of simple and more complex sentence forms, including the overview clause “with nickel experiencing the largest fall” and the sentence beginning “In January.” Most sentences communicate the intended meaning, so grammatical errors rarely prevent understanding. Some sentence-level problems remain, however. In “the prices declined for all three metals … whereas zinc saw a slight increase,” the contrast is not clearly controlled, and “which fell by 5 percentage points” has an unclear reference. The sentence “From July to August all three experienced no change in prices” also needs a more accurate grammatical and factual formulation. Punctuation and spacing are inconsistent, as in “1% ,respectively.” Use clearer clause structures, check pronoun references, and punctuate comparisons consistently.

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

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