Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-09-29

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 graph below showing the percentage of population living in the city of four different countries: Phillippines,Malaysia,Thailand and Indonesia . The percentage is from 1970 to 2020 and preidiction from 2030 to 2040.

The Indonesia population in 1970 is greter than 10 percent as the poupulation of Indonesia increase gradually in 2020 it reach 50 percent and the future perdiction is that it reach 60 percent till 2040.

The Thailand percentage is below than 20 in 1970 but from 1990 to 2020 it has a little change in it. But the future perdiction show that it population becomr high approximatly 45 percent.

The Malaysia population start from 30 percent and reach 75 percent approximately. In the future ir reach more than 80 percent . The Malaysia percentage is high among the three countries.

Phillippines percentage start from 30 percent in 1970 and after 1990 it decrease till 2020. Moreover it increase again in future.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

The response attempts to cover the main features of the graph, mentioning the four countries and their urbanisation trends from 1970 to 2040. However, the overview is missing entirely, as the student launches straight into individual country descriptions without summarising overall trends or the most striking comparisons. Furthermore, some data points are inaccurate or poorly expressed; for instance, stating that the Philippines 'decrease till 2020' misrepresents the fluctuations shown on the chart. While general trends are touched upon, the lack of an overarching summary and imprecise reporting place this response at band 5.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The essay is divided into short paragraphs for each country, which provides a basic organisational structure. However, there is no introduction or conclusion, and the flow between sentences is disjointed. Cohesive devices are minimal and repetitive, often relying on simple sentence structures without transition words or appropriate referencing (e.g., 'The Indonesia population...'). Paragraphing is attempted, but the lack of an overall progression and faulty logical transitions mean the response struggles to achieve a clear, cohesive structure, corresponding to a band 5.

Lexical Resource: Band 4.0

The vocabulary used is very basic and repetitive, frequently reusing terms like 'population', 'percentage', and 'percent'. There are numerous spelling mistakes throughout the text, such as 'Phillippines', 'greter', 'poupulation', 'perdiction', 'becomr', and 'approximatly'. The range of vocabulary is limited and minimally adequate for the task, with no successful attempts at less common lexical items or sophisticated collocations. These issues restrict the lexical score to band 4.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.0

The grammatical range is very limited, relying heavily on simple sentences with frequent structural errors. There are numerous basic errors in subject-verb agreement and tense usage, such as 'The Indonesia population in 1970 is greter' (past tense needed), 'it reach 50 percent' (missing past tense), and 'it population becomr high'. Punctuation and capitalization are also erratic, particularly with country names and spacing around punctuation marks. Because errors are frequent and occasionally cause strain for the reader, the grammar performance aligns with band 4.

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