Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-10-01

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 5.5)

The line chart provides data about the proportion of the population in the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia between 1970 and 2020, with predictions for the future.

Overall, the population across all the cities increased significantly. Malaysia population is higher than remaining countries throughout the period, except in 1970 and 1990, while Thailand made up the smallest proportion between 2000 to 2040.

To begin with Malaysia, it had slightly less population than the Philippines and stood for 30%, and then exceeded the Philippines in 1980, followed by a little drop in 1990 by around 45%. Moreover, extremely surged to higher than 80% in 2040. Philippines population fluctuated considerably, started with around 32% and jumped to near 50% in 1990. It fell to more than 40% in 2010, and then increased to higher than 50%.

Thailand had less than 20% in 1970, and then increased to 30% in 1990, remained stable until 2010, and then jumped to more than 45% in 2040. Indonesia began with the smallest proportion in 1970 and started increasing to more than 25% in 2000. Furthermore,it surged to 60% by 2040.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the task by selecting and reporting the main features of the chart, providing a clear overall trend and covering the four countries. An overview is present, noting the general increase in urban population and making relevant comparisons, such as Malaysia having the highest proportions and Thailand the lowest. However, some parts of the response are under-developed or contain minor inaccuracies in data interpretation. For example, stating that Malaysia was lower than the Philippines in 1970 and stood at 30% overlooks that Malaysia was actually at 30% and the Philippines at 32%, but Malaysia's subsequent trajectory is generally captured. Similarly, details about some countries' intermediate years lack full extension, placing the response firmly at this level where ideas are relevant but some are less fully developed.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The text exhibits a coherent overall arrangement with a clear division into paragraphs, including an introduction, an overview, and separate body paragraphs for the countries. Progression is maintained through time markers and introductory phrases like 'To begin with Malaysia' and 'Moreover'. However, cohesion is at times mechanical or somewhat awkward, such as starting paragraphs abruptly with country names ('To begin with Malaysia') rather than smoothly integrating them into comparative sentences. Referencing is occasionally unclear, as seen in phrases like 'stood for 30%' where the subject connection is slightly loose. Paragraphing is utilised adequately to separate the different groups of data, satisfying the requirements for this band level.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, successfully communicating trends with terms like 'proportion', 'increased significantly', 'fluctuated considerably', and 'surged'. There are attempts to use less common lexical items, but these are accompanied by some inaccuracy and awkward collocations, such as 'Malaysia population is higher than remaining countries' (missing articles and prepositional accuracy) and 'extremely surged' (using an adjective instead of an adverb). Spelling and word choice errors, such as missing possessive apostrophes in 'Malaysia population', do not impede communication, but they restrict the lexical score to this level, as the range remains somewhat limited and mechanical.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilising structures such as relative clauses and temporal prepositional phrases. However, there are frequent errors in grammar and punctuation that persist throughout the text. These include missing articles ('Malaysia population', 'Philippines population'), incorrect prepositions or prepositional omissions ('stood for 30%' instead of 'stood at 30%', 'less than 20% in 1970'), and awkward phrasing like 'started with around 32% and jumped to near 50%'. Although these errors rarely impede overall communication, they occur regularly enough to prevent the response from achieving a higher score, reflecting a pattern of mixed simple and complex forms with recurring inaccuracies.

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