Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-09-15

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 6.5)

The line graph illustrates the proportion of overall population of Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia who have been living in cities between 1970 and 2020 along with projections up to 2040.

Overall, all four countries display a clear upward trend in urban population percentages throughout the entire timeframe. Malaysia is projected to experience the highest growth rate and remain the most urbanised nation, whereas Thailand consistently account for the lowest proportion, despite steady growth.

In 1970, the pililppines had the highest proportion of people living in cities at approximately 31% followed by Malaysia at around 30%. Thailand and Indonesia lagged behind at roughly 19% and 12%, respectively. Over the next three decades, Malaysia experienced rapid urbanisation, surging to nearly 72% by 2010 and reaching about 78% in 2020, conversely, the Philippines saw its growth fluctuate peeking at nearly 50% in 1990 before dropping slightly and leveling off around 45% in 2020

Meanwhile, Indonesia witnessed a steady growth, surpassing the Philippines after 2010 to reach roughly 50% by 2020. Thailand grew at more gradual pace reaching about 30% in 2020. By 2040, Malaysia is expected to peak at 80%, with Indonesia following as the second most urbanised nation at 60%. The Philippines and Thailand are predicted to rise at 50% and 45% respectively.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The student successfully addresses all parts of the task by reporting the main features, trends, and comparisons of the four countries over the given timeline from 1970 to 2040. An effective overview is provided, highlighting the general upward trajectory and identifying Malaysia as the highest growth nation and Thailand as the lowest. Key data points are cited accurately, such as Malaysia reaching 76% in 2020 and the Philippines fluctuating around 45% in 2020. Minor discrepancies in precise data reading (e.g., stating the Philippines started at 31% instead of 32%) are well within acceptable margins for visual data interpretation. The progression of ideas is clear and fully meets the requirements for a Band 7.0 performance.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The response is logically organised with a clear progression throughout. It opens with an introductory sentence, moves to a clear overview paragraph, and then breaks down the body details chronologically and regionally. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different stages and countries. Cohesive devices are employed with reasonable flexibility, such as 'Overall', 'In 1970', 'Meanwhile', and 'By 2040'. However, there are minor cohesion and punctuation glitches, such as a run-on sentence structure in the third paragraph ('...reaching about 78% in 2020, conversely, the Philippines...'), which creates a comma splice. Overall, the logical flow is well maintained, earning a solid Band 7.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates a sufficient range of vocabulary with some flexibility and precision, incorporating appropriate terms related to data and trends such as 'proportion', 'upward trend', 'urbanisation', 'surging', and 'projections'. Less common lexical items are attempted with decent awareness of style, though there are minor spelling and word-choice errors, notably 'pililppines' (capitalisation and spelling slip), 'account' instead of 'accounts' in 'whereas Thailand consistently account', and 'peeking' instead of 'peaking'. Despite these occasional inaccuracies, communication is never impeded, and the vocabulary successfully conveys the academic intent, fitting the Band 6.5 or 7.0 profile well.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, incorporating relative clauses, participial phrases, and future projections (e.g., 'Malaysia is expected to peak at 80%'). There is good control over tense shifts moving from past data to future predictions. However, several grammatical slips occur, including a subject-verb agreement error ('Thailand consistently account'), a capitalization error ('pililppines'), a spelling error ('peeking'), and a punctuation error involving a comma splice between independent clauses. Because these errors do not impede communication and a variety of complex structures are successfully attempted, the response achieves a Band 6.5.

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