Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-08-02

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

The graph below gives information about the percentage of the population in four Asian countries living in cities from 1970 to 2020, with predictions for 2030 and 2040. Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make comparisons where relevant.

 

Student answer (Band 5.5)

The population of this Asian countries has a slight significant difference, however the chart shows starting from the year 1970 and elevated to the year 2040.

The graph simply shows the year and the percentage of the Asian countries, Malaysia in the year 1970 to 2040 the population engage from 30% boost in between 80% to 90%, then moving to Thailand in the year 1970 to 1990 the chart started below 20% increase from the center of 20% to 30% then from 1990 to 2020 it dropped a little bit in between 20% to 30%, moreover it increase to 40% in the 2040. Comes to Philippines it fluctuated from atop 30% and then stop at 40% in the year 1970 to 2010, later in the year 2010 to 2040 the chart goes higher at 40% to 50%. Let's come to Indonesia, in the year 1970 to 2040 the chat moves higher beyond 10% to 60%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response attempts to address the task by describing the trends for four countries. However, the information is often inaccurate or vague. For example, describing Malaysia's growth as a '30% boost in between 80% to 90%' is confusing and does not clearly reflect the data. The overview is missing, and the description of trends is disjointed, failing to highlight the most significant features or make meaningful comparisons between the countries. The report lacks a clear summary of the overall trends, which is a requirement for Task 1. Consequently, the response does not fully address the task requirements.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response lacks a clear structure. It is written as a single, dense paragraph, which makes it difficult to follow. There is a lack of logical progression between the descriptions of the different countries. Cohesive devices are either missing or used incorrectly, such as the awkward transition 'Comes to Philippines' and 'Let's come to Indonesia'. These informal and mechanical transitions hinder the flow of the report. To improve, the student should use clear paragraphing—one for the overview and one or two for the body—and use a wider range of linking words to connect ideas logically.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is quite limited and repetitive. Phrases like 'moves higher', 'goes higher', and 'increase' are used repeatedly to describe trends. There are also issues with word choice and collocation, such as 'the population engage from 30% boost' and 'the chart started below 20% increase'. These errors occasionally make the meaning unclear. To achieve a higher band, the student needs to use more precise vocabulary for describing trends, such as 'fluctuated', 'remained stable', 'surged', or 'experienced a gradual decline', and ensure that words are used in their correct grammatical context.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response contains frequent grammatical errors that sometimes impede communication. There are issues with subject-verb agreement ('this Asian countries has'), incorrect preposition usage, and awkward sentence structures ('the chart shows starting from the year 1970 and elevated to the year 2040'). The range of grammatical structures is very limited, consisting mostly of simple sentences with errors. There is a lack of complex sentence structures, which are necessary for higher band scores. Improving basic sentence construction and proofreading for subject-verb agreement would significantly enhance the clarity of the writing.

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