Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-08-20

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)

This graph illustrates the percentage of population living in cities of Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia from each decade starting from 1970 to 2020 .Furthermore , there are predictions for he upcoming decades of 2030 and 2040 regarding changes in population distribution in all these four Asian countries .

Overall, all four Asian countries have seen a rise in percentage of population living in urban areas .Although there were countries lie Philippines and Thailand which experienced a decline or a stagnation in proportion of people living in cities for some period but overall it has seen a rise in all respective countries mentioned on the graph.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.0

The response fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 150 words, as it is only 106 words long. Consequently, the task is not fully addressed. The student provides an introduction and a brief overview but fails to include any body paragraphs that detail the specific data points, trends, or comparisons between the four countries. By omitting the actual analysis of the graph's figures, the response lacks the necessary development and supporting detail required for an Academic Task 1 report. To improve, the student must describe the specific percentages for each country at key intervals and highlight significant differences or similarities in their urbanisation trends.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The response is too short to demonstrate a full range of cohesive devices or effective paragraphing. While there is a basic attempt at an introduction and an overview, the lack of body paragraphs means there is no logical progression of ideas. The use of cohesive devices is minimal, with only basic transitions like 'Furthermore' and 'Although' present. The referencing is sometimes unclear, such as in the phrase 'all respective countries mentioned on the graph,' which feels redundant. To achieve a higher score, the student needs to structure the report with clear paragraphs and use a wider variety of linking words to connect data points logically.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but remains quite basic and repetitive. Phrases like 'rise in percentage of population' and 'proportion of people living in cities' are used, but there is little evidence of a wider range of academic vocabulary. There are also minor errors, such as 'countries lie Philippines' (should be 'like') and 'he upcoming decades' (should be 'the'). The student needs to incorporate more precise terminology related to data description, such as 'urbanisation rates,' 'fluctuations,' or 'projected figures,' to demonstrate a more sophisticated control of language.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response contains a mix of simple and some complex sentence structures, but there are several grammatical errors that detract from the quality. For example, 'from each decade starting from 1970 to 2020' is awkward phrasing, and there are punctuation errors, such as spaces before commas (e.g., '2020 .Furthermore ,'). Additionally, 'he upcoming decades' is a clear typographical error. While the meaning is generally understandable, the frequency of these errors and the lack of complex sentence variety limit the score. Focusing on accurate punctuation and more varied sentence structures will help improve the overall grammatical accuracy.

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