Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-09-01
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 line chart provides information about the proportion of the total people who living in cities in four Asian countries between 1970 and 2020. including the predictions for 2030 and 2040.
Overall, the total percentage of the population in four Asian countries experienced an increase despite a mild dip in Philippines, with Malaysia witnessed significant rising in population. In addition, this trends are expeceted to continue into the future.
In 1970, the total proportion of people in Malaysia and Philippines were almost equal, at around 30% before increasing rapidly to reach about 45% in 1990 each. While this figure contnued to grow substantially in Malaysia until reached approximately 79% by 2020, the percentage of population dropped in Philippines gradually to around 45% in 2010 before recovered steadily afterward. However, this upward trends are predicted to rise in the future, making Philippines the largest city occupied by people by 2040, peaking at roughly 85% and Malaysia to rank third at around 55%.
Looking at the populations of Thailand and Indonesia. In 1970, there was about 19% people lived in Thailand before surging to just under 30% in 1990, and remained stable around this figure until 2020, While
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The response covers the main trends and provides comparisons, but it is incomplete as it ends abruptly mid-sentence. While you successfully identify the key features of Malaysia and the Philippines, the analysis of Thailand and Indonesia is left unfinished, which prevents a full overview of the data. To improve, ensure you complete the description of all categories presented in the graph. The overview is present but could be more precise; for example, stating that the Philippines will be the 'largest city occupied' is a misinterpretation of the data, which refers to the percentage of the population living in urban areas, not the size of a city.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organized into paragraphs, and there is an attempt to use cohesive devices such as 'In addition', 'While', and 'However'. However, the flow is disrupted by the incomplete final sentence and some awkward transitions. The referencing is sometimes unclear, such as in the phrase 'this trends are expected', where the plural verb does not match the singular demonstrative. The progression of ideas is logical until the sudden termination of the text, which significantly impacts the overall coherence of the response.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'proportion', 'substantially', and 'surging'. However, there are several word-choice errors and awkward collocations, such as 'largest city occupied by people' instead of 'highest level of urbanization' and 'mild dip in Philippines' (missing the article 'the'). Some phrasing is repetitive, and the misuse of 'city occupied' suggests a lack of precision in describing statistical data. Improving your grasp of topic-specific vocabulary related to graphs and trends would be beneficial.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues ('this trends are', 'Malaysia witnessed significant rising'), missing articles ('in Philippines'), and tense inconsistencies ('until reached' instead of 'until it reached'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with the use of commas and the incomplete sentence at the end. While the meaning is generally understandable, the frequency of these errors prevents a higher score.
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.