Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-10-24

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 6.5)

The line graph compares the average monthly percentage change in price of copper, nickel and zinc in 2014.

Overall, the monthly change in price of the three metal fluctuated throughout the year. Nickel had the most dramatic fall out of the three metal. It had the highest change in price in the begining of the year, by the end of the year it had the lowest average change in price while zinc on the other hand which had the lowest in january, had the highest change in price by december. Additionally, copper had the most comparatively stable price out of the three metal.

Nickel which had the highest change in price of 6% in january dropped significantly to1% by march. By june the percentage change in price of nickel has drop to a deep of -3%. However, it recovered sharply to -1% in july and by december, the percentage change in price of nickel had incresed to 1%. Which was by far low compared to its pecentage change of 6% in january.

Zinc, which started off as the metal with the lowest percentage change of price of 1%, grew steadily to 3% in febuary after which it dropped steadily. By june, the percentage of zinc had dropped to -1% a percentage which was maintained till september, before growing steadily and by december, it became the metal with the highest percentage change of 2%.Copper had a comparatively steady percentage change starting off with 2% and about 1.8% by the end of the year.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

You provide a clear overview of the main patterns: nickel begins with the strongest rise and reaches the sharpest fall, zinc finishes highest, and copper is comparatively stable. The body paragraphs support this with relevant figures, including nickel’s 6% in January and −3% in June, and zinc’s rise to 3% in February and recovery to 2% in December. This covers the key features and comparisons well. A few details are inaccurate or over-generalised: zinc did not maintain −1% through September, since it was about −0.5% from July to September, and copper ended at roughly 1.5%, not 1.8%. Also, describing nickel as having the lowest change at year-end is imprecise because it tied with copper at about 1%.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall structure, moving from an introduction and overview to separate discussion of nickel and zinc, with copper added at the end. This makes the main trends easy to follow, and linking expressions such as “However,” “before,” and “on the other hand” help show contrast and sequence. The organisation is coherent, though the overview’s long sentence combines several comparisons and becomes difficult to track. Some connections are also awkward: “Which was by far low…” is a sentence fragment, while the final copper point feels appended rather than integrated into the comparison. Grouping the metals by shared movements or adding a concise copper comparison within the body would make progression smoother and cohesion less mechanical.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of task-relevant language, including “fluctuated,” “dropped significantly,” “recovered sharply,” and “comparatively stable.” These choices communicate the broad movements clearly, and the response uses percentage-change terminology throughout. However, some wording is imprecise or repetitive: “change in price” appears frequently, and “deep” is not the appropriate noun for a low point. There are also spelling errors such as “begining,” “incresed,” “pecentage,” and “febuary,” alongside awkward phrases such as “the metal with the lowest percentage change of price.” More precise collocations and careful proofreading would improve clarity and control while preserving your useful range.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You attempt a mix of simple and complex structures, including relative clauses (“Zinc, which started off…”) and time clauses (“By June…” and “before growing steadily…”). The main meaning is generally clear, but some grammatical errors remain. For example, “the three metal” needs a plural noun, “the percentage change … has drop” has an incorrect verb form, and “Which was by far low…” is an incomplete sentence. The overview also contains a long sentence with several clauses that are not controlled cleanly. Review subject–verb agreement, past-tense forms for the completed year, and sentence boundaries. Breaking the longest sentences into two would help you show your range with greater accuracy.

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

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