Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-08-05

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 5.0)

The line graph depicts the proportion of people in four Asian nations who were living in cities from 1970 to 2020, along with projection for 2030 and 2040.

Overall, it is clear that by 2040 the highest urbanized city will be Malaysia, while Thailand would the least preferred city. Meanwhile, Indonesia overtook Philippines and Thailand and become the second most populated city.

Malaysia and Philippines both had around 30% of their population living in cities in 1970, whereas Indonesia stood at around 12%. From 1980 to 1990, Philippines showed a rapid growth by approximately 15%. By 2010, it was moved downward and reached under 45%, while Thailand and Indonesia were increased gradually and reached nearly 28% and 40% respectively.

Malaysia city's population will be increased rapidly until 2040 and become the most populated country among all. By 2040, Philippines will likely to go up and will reach around above 50%. Indonesia become the second highest populated nation after 2010. All four nation graph sho

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response covers the main features of the graph, including the trends for the four countries. However, there are significant inaccuracies in the data reporting. For example, you state that the Philippines 'moved downward' after 2010, whereas the graph shows a continued upward trend. Additionally, the description of the countries as 'cities' is a conceptual error; the graph tracks the percentage of the population living in urban areas, not the population of specific cities. The overview is present but lacks precision, and the final sentence is incomplete, which hinders the overall development of the response.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. You use some cohesive devices like 'Meanwhile' and 'whereas' to link ideas. However, the progression of ideas is sometimes confusing due to the data inaccuracies mentioned above. The referencing is occasionally unclear, such as when you refer to countries as 'cities'. The abrupt ending of the final sentence significantly disrupts the flow and coherence of the conclusion, making the text feel unfinished.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing you to describe trends such as 'rapid growth' and 'increased gradually'. However, there are persistent errors in word choice, such as referring to the countries as 'cities' or 'populated city'. These errors are noticeable and occasionally cause confusion. You attempt to use some specific terminology, but the lack of precision in identifying the subject matter (urbanization vs. city population) limits your score in this criterion.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as 'Thailand would the least preferred city' (missing verb) and 'Philippines will likely to go up' (incorrect structure). Subject-verb agreement is also inconsistent, for example, 'Indonesia become' instead of 'became'. While these errors do not completely prevent communication, they occur frequently enough to impact the clarity of your writing. The incomplete final sentence also reflects a lack of control over sentence structure.

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

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