Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-09-12

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 graph illustrates the comparison of the percentage of the population living in cities amongst four different countries between years 1970 to 2020, along with prediction percentages for 2030 and 2040

Overall, the percentage of population living in cities gradually increased in Malaysia and Philippines from 1970 to 2020, and pridected to be remains almost steady in next decade. On the other side, the percentage population living in Thailand and Indonesia urban areas almost remained similar with out significant fluctuations.

Looking closely into details, Malaysia is the country in which the percentage population lived in cities significantly increased from around 30% in 1970 to almost 80% in 2020, while it is also predicted that this percentage will be ramain around the same over the coming decade.

Moreover, the Philippine also followed the same trend, but the percentage was around 13% in 1970 which raised steadily to about 50% in 2020, and predicted to be around the same over the next 10 years.

In contrast, Thailand and Indonesia followed, almost similar non-fluctuating trends approximatly 30% and 20% respectively in 1971, and wittness a steady rise of almost 5% over the six decads.

In conclusion, Malaysia was the one who witness the major urbanization in 6 decads, followed by Philippines.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response covers all parts of the task by successfully summarizing the main trends and making relevant comparisons across the four Asian countries from 1970 to 2020, with predictions for 2030 and 2040. The overview effectively highlights the general upward trend in Malaysia and the Philippines alongside the relatively stable patterns in Thailand and Indonesia. Key features, such as Malaysia's significant increase from around 30% to almost 80%, are highlighted with data points. Although there are minor inaccuracies in data reporting (such as mentioning 1971 instead of 1970 and slight misstatements of starting percentages), the main trends are clearly reported and well-supported, satisfying the requirements for a Band 6.5 to 7.0 performance.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response has a clear overall progression and is divided into logical paragraphs, beginning with an introduction and overview, followed by detailed body paragraphs and a concluding summary. Cohesive devices are used to connect ideas, such as 'Overall', 'Looking closely into details', 'Moreover', and 'In contrast'. However, referencing and cohesion are occasionally faulty or mechanical, and some sentences lack smooth transitions. For instance, the transition into the details for Thailand and Indonesia is slightly awkward. Paragraphing is present and mostly appropriate, but minor cohesion errors place this in the Band 6 category.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for the task, attempting some less common lexical items such as 'urbanization', 'fluctuations', and 'significantly increased'. However, there are numerous spelling and word-form errors throughout the text, including 'pridected', 'remains' (instead of remain), 'ramain', 'Philippine' (instead of the Philippines), 'approximatly', 'wittness', and 'decads'. These lexical inaccuracies and spelling slips occur frequently, though they rarely impede overall communication, which aligns well with the Band 6 descriptor.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, attempting relative clauses and predictions ('while it is also predicted that this percentage will be ramain'). However, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with verb forms and prepositions, such as 'be remains almost steady', 'percentage population lived', 'to about 50% in 2020, and predicted to be', and 'followed, almost similar non-fluctrutaing trends approximatly 30% and 20% respectively in 1971'. Punctuation is also sometimes weak, missing periods at the end of paragraphs. These errors occasionally cause some difficulty, making Band 5.5 a fair reflection of control.

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