Writing Task 1: Line Graph: Question 1

Worked solution

Examiner notes: why this is a band 9 response

Task Achievement

The response opens with a one-sentence paraphrase of the graph’s subject, then gives a distinct overview identifying the two most important features, the shared seasonal shape and the unequal size of the gap between the cities, before any specific figures appear. Supporting detail is selected rather than exhaustive: it reports the key extremes (the January/July values for both cities) and the point of near-convergence in summer, and closes by quantifying the overall range comparison rather than simply repeating raw numbers.

Coherence & Cohesion

Paragraphs are organised logically: overview, then Port Elyria’s range, then the comparison with Calder Bay, then a summarising final sentence. Referencing (“that point”, “the two cities”) and comparative linkers (“by contrast”, “in short”) connect ideas without a mechanical list of transition words.

Lexical Resource

Trend vocabulary is varied and precise (“warming steadily”, “falls below zero”, “warms rapidly”) and comparative structures are used accurately and naturally throughout (“considerably wider”, “some 10°C colder”, “only 2°C behind”).

Grammatical Range & Accuracy

The response mixes simple statements of fact with more complex comparative and concessive structures (“while both cities share… Calder Bay’s much colder winters make…”), and numerical expressions (temperatures, differences) are formed correctly throughout with no errors of agreement or word form.

Common pitfalls specific to this task

See commonMistakes above: the most damaging is treating this as a single-city description task twice over, rather than actively comparing the two lines. A band 9 answer must state, in figures, how much colder Calder Bay is in winter and how close the two cities are in summer.