Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-11-04

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 4.5)

The given line graph illustrates the average monthly change in the prices of three different metals in 2014.

Overall, Nickel showed the highest change in january and had lowest variation in june. Whereas, Zinc had lowest change in January and was at peaked in february. In contrast, Copper showed a slight change throughout the period.

According to the graph, Zinc showed the highest change as compared to last month with 6% in the monthof january. Then its percentage fell slightly and was lowest at -3% in june.Thereafter the proportion of change eventually rose to 10% in November and December.

In the month ofJanuary, Zinc showed the lowest change as compared to previous month with the proprotion of 10% and then figure rose to 30% in February. After fell down, in the month of November and December its change rose to 30% and 40% respectively.

The proportion of change of Nickel was at 20% in January. Eventually this change declined to 1% May.Then the percenatge ofchange accounted for 15% in

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 3.5

The response identifies the chart topic and attempts an overview, but its account of the data is substantially inaccurate, so the main features are not reliably reported. It says nickel peaked at 6% in January, but then attributes that figure to zinc; in fact, nickel is the series at 6%. It also reports changes of 10%, 30% and 40%, although the graph’s values are mostly between about -3% and 6%. The overview that copper changed only slightly is broadly supported, but the claims about zinc’s lowest and peak months are confused. The final sentence is incomplete and leaves nickel’s later trend unreported. Select the correct series and describe the major rises, falls and recovery using accurate figures before adding detail.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.0

There is an attempt to organise the response into an introduction, an overview and detail paragraphs, and sequencing words such as “Then,” “Thereafter” and “Eventually” show an effort to guide the reader. However, the progression is difficult to follow because the metals are repeatedly misidentified: the paragraph beginning “According to the graph” describes nickel’s figures as zinc’s, while the next paragraph switches labels again. The overview also gives conflicting descriptions of the metals’ highs and lows. The final sentence stops at “in,” leaving the account unfinished. Use one paragraph per clear stage or series, keep each metal’s figures together, and check that pronouns and transitions refer to the correct information.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The response uses a reasonable set of task-related terms, including “average monthly change,” “percentage,” “declined” and “rose,” and it attempts some variation rather than relying only on “went up” and “went down.” However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or awkward, such as “had lowest variation,” “was at peaked,” and “the proportion of change accounted for.” Spelling and spacing errors, including “monthof,” “proprotion” and “percenatge,” also reduce clarity. Use standard graph-reporting language consistently and check spelling carefully. For example, describe a figure as “stood at” a percentage, and say a value “peaked at” or “fell to” a level.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response attempts both simple and more complex sentence forms, including contrast with “Whereas” and sequencing with “After.” Some sentences communicate a basic comparison, but grammatical control is inconsistent. For example, “Whereas, Zinc had lowest variation” is not a complete, well-formed contrast clause, and “After fell down” lacks a subject and a correctly formed verb. The final sentence, “Eventually this change declined to 1% May,” is also incomplete in its time expression, while the last line ends without completing the sentence. Practise forming complete clauses with a clear subject and verb, and check articles and prepositions in phrases such as “the lowest” and “in May.”

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.