Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-09-20

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 4.5)

The line graph compares the percentage of population in four asian contries -Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia,living in the cities from 1970 to 2020,with predictions for 2030 and 2040.

Overall,the percentage of total population living in cities was highest in Malasia throught 1970 to 2040 while, Thailand will have only 45% of total population in 2040.Although 60% population will prefer to live in cities of Indonesia in 2040, only 10% population has recorded in 1970.

In 1970, 30% of population was living in cities in Philippines and Malasia, before reaching to 45 %, Malasia showed gradual increas in percentage

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.0

The response is severely under-length, containing only 98 words against the required 150-word minimum. Because of this, it fails to fully cover all parts of the task or provide a complete overview. While the writer attempts to introduce the graph and select a few key features, such as Malaysia's high urbanisation and Indonesia's growth, the text breaks off abruptly in the middle of a sentence in the second body paragraph. Consequently, the development of ideas is heavily curtailed, and crucial comparisons across the four countries are missing.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 4.5

The response is structured into an introduction and two very brief, incomplete paragraphs. Cohesive devices are minimal, and the text ends abruptly mid-sentence, preventing any logical progression or conclusion. While basic introductory framing is attempted with 'Overall, the percentage...', the lack of a proper paragraph structure and incomplete thoughts disrupt the overall coherence of the response.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is generally basic and repetitive ('percentage of population', 'living in cities', 'total population'). There are some noticeable lexical and spelling inaccuracies, such as 'asian contries', 'Malasia', and 'increas'. Although the student attempts some topic-specific terms like 'urbanisation' conceptually, the limited range and frequent mechanical errors restrict the lexical score to this band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 4.5

The response displays a very limited range of grammatical structures, relying mostly on simple sentences with occasional attempts at complex clauses. There are notable punctuation and capitalisation errors (e.g., lowercase 'asian', 'Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia'). Furthermore, the grammatical structure collapses towards the end with the incomplete sentence 'before reaching to 45 %, Malasia showed gradual increas in percentage', which significantly affects readability and grammatical control.

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