Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-09-25

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 chart exhibits the variation of four asian countries population residing in cities between 1970 to 2040. Overall, there is an increasing trend among all countries except philippines.

It is quite evident from the diagram that Malaysia has the increasing trend on the contrary philippines trajectory is compartivelt low. In 1970 the highest percentage of people settling in cities was from philippines but after 1990, it started to go donwward till 2010.

Furthermore, as per the future predictions all the countries have upward promising trend. Malaysia is expected to be reach around 80% whereas in indonasia this ratio is see to increase upto 30%. Two of countries thailand and philippines are moving with moderate pace and their population is increasing at the marginal rate. Its also been observed irrespective of the countries, urbanisation is increasing with the passage of time which will create a positive impact on the economy of these countries.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.0
Coherence and Cohesion5.0
Lexical Resource5.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.0

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

The student attempts to cover the main features of the graph, noting the general upward trend in urbanization and highlighting specific countries like Malaysia and the Philippines. However, there are significant factual inaccuracies regarding the data. For instance, the student states that the Philippines had the highest percentage in 1970 and experienced a downward trend until 2010 (whereas the Philippines actually rose from 32% to 48% in 1990 before fluctuating). Furthermore, the data cited for Indonesia (stating it is seen to increase up to 30% by 2030, when the chart shows it starting at 14% and rising well past 50% by 2020) is severely misread. While an overview is attempted, the inaccurate reporting of specific data points prevents a higher band score.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response is divided into paragraphs, attempting an introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs. However, the logical progression is hindered by poor referencing and weak cohesive devices. Phrases like 'It is quite evident from the diagram that Malaysia has the increasing trend on the contrary philippines trajectory is compartivelt low' lack proper punctuation and transitional links. Furthermore, the final sentence strays into speculation ('which will create a positive impact on the economy') rather than remaining focused on the visual data. Paragraphing is rudimentary, and overall cohesion feels mechanical and disjointed.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is adequate to communicate basic ideas about changes over time, utilizing words such as 'variation', 'trend', 'urbanisation', and 'percentage'. However, there are numerous spelling, capitalization, and word-choice errors, such as 'asian', 'philippines', 'compartivelt', 'donwward', 'indonasia', and 'see to increase upto 30%'. Less common lexical items are attempted but used inaccurately (e.g., 'marginal rate'), and formatting issues like lack of proper noun capitalization recur throughout the text.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The student demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but control over grammar and punctuation is weak. There are frequent missing commas, run-on sentences, and missing articles or prepositions (e.g., 'except philippines', 'Malaysia is expected to be reach around 80%', 'Two of countries thailand and philippines'). Subject-verb agreement and tense consistency also show frequent errors, such as 'is see to increase' instead of 'is set to increase'. These errors occasionally impede smooth reading and obscure the precise meaning of the comparisons.

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