Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-09-28

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 trend of urbanization and predicts its future in four Asian countries namely: Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia.

Overall, it is evident that urbanization has dramatically surged in past years and is foreseen to experience a substantial increase in coming years.

Population of Malaysia and Indonesia steeply rise from 30% and around 10% of total population to approximately above 70% and 50% respectively by the end of 2020. Furthermore, Malaysia's residency is seen to be skyrocketed to 80% in 2030 and over 80% in 2040. Similarly, Indonesia's population will grow more than 60% in two coming decades.

In contrast, although other two countries represented a positive change they fluctuated constantly. Thailand on the one hand, commenced from below 20% saw a gradually rise roughly 30% by 1990 and hovered over 30% till 2020 likewise it's population will sharply increase in coming years to just below 50%. On the other hand, Philippines witnessed a dramatic fluctuation with around 30% residents in 1970 to almost 50% in 1990 before representing a dip to nearly 41% in 2010 and again rise to roughly 42% in 2020. In addition, it's population will grew above 50% by 2040.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response successfully covers all parts of the task by selecting and reporting the main features of the chart. The overview clearly highlights the overall upward trend of urbanization across the four countries. Key data points are generally accurate, such as Malaysia and Indonesia rising significantly and the contrasting patterns of Thailand and the Philippines. However, there are a few minor numerical inaccuracies in the detail (for instance, the Philippines in 2020 was around 45.5% rather than roughly 42%). Nonetheless, the main trends and comparisons are well reported, fulfilling the requirements for a Band 7.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response is logically organized with a clear overall progression. It begins with an appropriate introductory sentence and an overview paragraph, followed by grouped body paragraphs comparing the countries. Cohesive devices such as 'In contrast', 'Furthermore', and 'Similarly' are used to connect ideas effectively, although paragraphing could be slightly more refined. Referencing and cohesive links generally maintain clarity, supporting a solid Band 7 level.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The student attempts a range of vocabulary suitable for an academic task, utilizing terms like 'urbanization', 'surged', 'skyrocketed', and 'fluctuated'. However, there are some awkward word choices and collocation errors, such as 'Malaysia's residency' instead of the proportion of urban population, and minor inaccuracies like 'gradually rise' instead of 'gradual rise'. Despite these slips, the lexical range is adequate to convey the intended meaning, aligning with Band 6.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, incorporating relative clauses and introductory dependent clauses (e.g., 'In contrast, although other two countries represented a positive change...'). However, there are several grammatical errors and awkward structures throughout, including missing articles ('other two countries'), tense issues ('will grew'), and prepositional errors ('hovered over 30% till 2020 likewise it's population will sharply increase'). These errors occasionally interrupt the flow but do not impede overall communication, placing the response firmly at Band 6.

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