Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

The multiline graph lillustrates how the proportion of the population changed in four Asian countries living in cities from 1970 to 2020.It also shows the prediction for this from 2030 to 2040.

Overall , the percentage of urban residents in all four cities increased from 1970 to 2000.Altough , Malaysia dominated the figures of population almost through out the period, Indonesia rose significantly.

In 1970 urbanisation in Philippines and Malaysia was almost 30% but it exceeded to 49%-50% by 1990 .But after this ,Philippines experienced a dip untill 2010 where it became steady yet regained its progress. Conversely urbanisation of Malaysia continued to grow .

In 1970 the rate of urbanisation in Indonesia and Thailand was almost 15%-18% and it continued to grow ,by 2020 it was 50% for Indonesia and 30% for Thailand.

According to predictions the level of urbanisation will grow continuously with Philippines at top with approximately 80% and Thailand at bottom with almost 42%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response covers all parts of the task well by identifying the main features and trends of urbanisation in the four Asian countries from 1970 to 2020, along with predictions up to 2040. You successfully highlight key data points, such as Malaysia and the Philippines starting at around 30% in 1970, and make relevant comparisons between countries like Indonesia and Thailand. However, there is a slight inaccuracy in your overview where you mention 'all four cities' instead of countries, and a minor confusion in your prediction summary regarding the Philippines and Thailand at the end. Despite these minor issues, the overall selection of data is accurate and fulfills the requirements of Task 1 well, earning a solid Band 6.5.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response has a clear overall arrangement and follows a logical progression from 1970 through to the future predictions. You use appropriate paragraphing to separate the introduction, overall overview, and body details. Cohesive devices such as 'Conversely', 'But after this', and 'According to predictions' are utilised to connect ideas, though some referencing is slightly faulty or mechanical (e.g., placing commas before punctuation marks and starting sentences abruptly). Paragraphing is functional, but the transitions between certain time periods could be smoother. This level of organisation aligns well with the Band 6 descriptors.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

Your lexical range is adequate for the task. You attempt less common vocabulary items such as 'urbanisation', 'significantly', and 'predictions'. However, there are noticeable spelling and word choice errors, such as 'lillustrates' instead of 'illustrates', 'Altough' instead of 'Although', 'through out' instead of 'throughout', and referring to countries as 'cities'. Additionally, phrase choices like 'exceeded to 49%-50%' and 'became steady yet regained its progress' are somewhat unnatural. These errors do not impede communication, placing your lexical resource firmly at a Band 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, successfully using relative clauses and coordinate conjunctions such as in 'the percentage of urban residents in all four cities increased from 1970 to 2000.' However, there are frequent punctuation errors, missing commas, run-on sentences (e.g., '2020.It also shows'), and spacing issues. Grammar control is generally acceptable with understandable attempts at complex structures, but errors persist throughout the text, including tense consistency issues ('will grow continuously with Philippines at top'). These issues place your grammar performance at a Band 6.0.

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