Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-09-14
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 graph illustrates the percentage of the people in four Asian countries, Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia form 1970 and 2020 and also provides the predictions for 2030 and 2040.
Overall, Malaysia had a great change in the percentage of the people from 1970 to 2020. Phillipians and Thailand had fluctuated the percentages of individuals. While Indonisia experienced a great change overall the time period.
In 1970, only 15% of the people were living in Indonasia, but as the time passed, a lot of people were attracted towards it as it changes to 50%. Philippians had the fluctuated percentages of individuals as it it rose gradually after a slight downfall in 2010. Thailand also experienced a good change throughout 2020 as it increases from 20% to 30%. The dominant city from all of them is Philippians that had greatest change from 30% to 75%.
Looking at the pridictions, Malaysia is expected to to led at over 80% followed by Indonasia at roughly 65% while th ePhilippians and Thailand wl reach about 55% and 50%.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The response attempts to summarise the main features of the graph regarding urban population percentages in four Asian countries from 1970 to 2040. However, there are significant factual inaccuracies in interpreting the data. For instance, the student states that the Philippines started at 30% and rose to 75% and describes it as the dominant country, whereas Malaysia generally shows higher urbanisation percentages throughout the period. Furthermore, country names are misspelled consistently throughout the text, such as 'Phillipians', 'Indonisia', and 'Form' instead of 'from'. While the overview mentions general trends, the lack of accurate data reporting pulls the score down to a band 5.0.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0
The text is organized into four paragraphs, attempting an introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs detailing specific data points and predictions. However, the progression of ideas is frequently disrupted by imprecise referencing and awkward phrasing, such as 'as the time passed' and 'as it changes to 50%'. Cohesive devices are minimal and sometimes inaccurate ('While Indonisia experienced a great change overall the time period'). Paragraphing is visually present, but logical transitions between sentences and ideas require improvement to ensure a smoother flow throughout the response, justifying a band 5.0.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is very basic and repetitive, relying heavily on simple terms like 'great change', 'good change', and 'percentage of the people'. There are also frequent spelling errors of key terms and country names, including 'form' for 'from', 'Indonisia', 'Philippians' (instead of Philippines), and 'pridictions'. The student attempts some less common vocabulary such as 'fluctuated', 'attracted', and 'dominant', but these are often used with incorrect collocations or imprecise meanings. The lexical range is limited and minimally adequate for the task, corresponding to a band 5.0.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but many complex sentences contain grammatical errors or awkward phrasing, such as 'Malaysia is expected to to led at over 80%' and 'Thailand also experienced a good change throughout 2020 as it increases from 20% to 30%'. Tense usage is inconsistent when shifting between past data and future predictions ('wl reach'). Frequent errors in prepositions, verb forms, and spelling cause some difficulty for the reader, placing the grammar performance firmly at a band 5.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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