Band 4.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.0 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-09-30

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 4.0)

The two line charts illustrate fluctuations in the transformation of electrical appliances in household work and the number of hours per week spent doing domestic tasks in a country from 1920 to 2019.

Overall, all of the products were being greatly used by people in their daily tasks. Refrigerators began at zero in 1920 before their usage peaked in 1980. Consequently, vacuum cleaners also made significant growth, while washing machines saw ups and downs over the period.

Refrigerators started the year 1920 with 0%. However, this figure saw substantial growth, reaching just above 50% by 1940, 90 percent in 1960, and finally levelling at 100% from 1980 to 2019. Consequently, vacuum cleaners accounted for 30% at the beginning, before they constantly surged to 100 percent in the next 8 decades, where they balanced this trend till 2019. Washing machines showed a somewhat different pattern. They were the leading appliance in 1920, climbing from 40% to 70% by 1960, where they dropped to 60% in 1980, and then gradually increased to approximately 75% by the end of the timeline.

Regarding the hours of working, people spent relatively less time using these appliances: 50 hours/week at the start, then gradually reducing to 10 hours every week over the period.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 1.0

The student has written a response about a completely different chart. Instead of analyzing the percentage of the population living in cities in four Asian countries from 1970 to 2040, the writer describes electrical appliances in households and domestic work hours. This represents a complete misinterpretation of the visual data provided in the prompt. Consequently, the response fails to address any part of the actual task requirements, meaning no credit can be given for selecting and reporting main features or making comparisons from the provided line graph.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

Despite being entirely off-topic regarding the prompt content, the text itself exhibits a clear internal structure with paragraphs dedicated to an introduction, an overview, body details, and a concluding data point. Cohesive devices such as 'However', 'Consequently', and 'Regarding the hours of working' are used to connect ideas. However, referencing and progression are tied to a phantom chart, which heavily disrupts overall textual flow in the context of the examination.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary range for descriptive tasks, utilizing terms like 'fluctuations', 'substantial growth', 'peaked', and 'gradually increased'. While some word choices are appropriate for describing trends (e.g., 'levelling at 100%'), there are lexical inaccuracies resulting from describing the wrong topic entirely. Nevertheless, the range displayed shows basic competence in handling trend-based vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response contains a reasonable mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as 'Refrigerators began at zero in 1920 before their usage peaked in 1980' and 'Regarding the hours of working, people spent relatively less time using these appliances.' Grammatical control is generally fair, with accurate past tense forms and correct prepositions, though occasional awkward phrasings appear. The errors present do not heavily impede comprehension of the sentences themselves.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

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