Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-11-01

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 below illustrates the proportions of monthly trends in the prices of three metals in the year 2014.

Overall , Nickel experienced a drastic decrease in price at the begining of the year before staying at the same level at the end of the year, while Zinc showed a surge at the begining of the then slowed down in the middle of the year before increasing again at the end.

Nickel showed decreasing trends at the begining of the the year by 1% up to march before leveling up then experienced a drastic decrease to negative three in the month of June , after which it incresed before levelling up and remained the same in the end of the year.

Zinc experienced increase at the begining of the month by 3% , then decreased steadly up to june by negative one percent, then remained stable till october , before showing steep increase at the end of the year.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

The response identifies some important movements, especially nickel’s sharp fall to around −3% in June and the metals’ recovery towards year-end. However, coverage is incomplete: copper is not mentioned at all, and the overview focuses on nickel and zinc rather than summarising the main pattern across all three metals. Some details are also inaccurate or unclear. Nickel fell from about 6% in January to 1% in March, not by 1% “up to March”; zinc peaked at about 3% in February, rather than simply rising at the beginning, and its late-year increase is not described precisely. To improve, compare all three series and report their key highs, lows and shared mid-year decline accurately.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview and separate paragraphs describing nickel and zinc. This gives the reader a basic progression, and linking phrases such as “before,” “after which” and “while” help show changes over time. However, the organisation is weakened by the omission of copper, which leaves the account unbalanced, and some sequences are difficult to follow because several stages are compressed into long sentences. For example, the nickel paragraph moves from March through June to year-end without clearly separating the changes. Use clearer chronological grouping and connect comparisons between metals, rather than describing only one series at a time.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

There is adequate vocabulary for describing trends, including “drastic decrease,” “leveling,” “remained stable” and “steep increase.” These choices generally communicate the intended movements, and the writer attempts some variation rather than relying only on “go up” and “go down.” However, several expressions are imprecise or awkward for graph description: “proportions of monthly trends” does not accurately describe percentage changes, and “showed a surge at the beginning” is vague about which month and value. Spelling errors such as “begining,” “incresed” and “steadly” also reduce accuracy. Choose precise terms such as “monthly percentage changes” and proofread spelling and collocations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response uses both simple statements and longer clauses, including the contrast in “while Zinc showed…” and the sequence beginning “after which it…”. The main trends are usually understandable, but some grammatical errors and punctuation problems remain. In “Nickel showed decreasing trends … by 1% up to march,” the construction does not clearly express the change, while “Zinc experienced increase” is missing an article. The sentence about zinc also has an unclear phrase, “at the beginning of the month,” where the plural months are intended. Capitalisation and spacing around punctuation are inconsistent. Aim for more controlled sentence boundaries and check articles, prepositions and month names.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.