Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-10-02
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 graph breakdowns to show population percentage in four countries across Asia that have lived in cities for 50 years between 1970 and 2020 ,alongside predections for 2030 and 2040.
Overall, it is clear that three of the countries have had an increasment rate ,while Philippines has had back and forth rate throughout the period.
As Philippines had the highest population rate in 1970 a slightly above 30% ,nearly followed by Malaysia at the second place which had excat 30%, meanwhile Thailand and Indonesia were far behind as the acheived a population between 10% and 20% .
By 1990 , the four countries had a risen rate where Malaysia,Thailand and Indonesia had a gradual increasment , while Philippines had a slight rise followed by a sharp incease that made it dominate the population rate that year .However the Philippines acheivemnt didnot last long as for the next 20 years and by 2010 It was the only country that had a declinment of about 10% , and for the other countries they continued growing as Malaysia had a remarkable record of population reaching approximatly 70% .
Thailand had a nealy saturated rate between 2010 and 2020 ,at the same time Philippines began to recover and went up and for Malaysia and Indonesia they resumed their climb as Indonesia had population between 50% and 60% by 2020 and for Malaysia its population still accounted the largest population percentage .
Regarding the predictions for 2030 and 2040 , all of the four countries seem to have a gradual increasment with Malaysia overtaking the rest by huge differecement rate.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0
The response addresses all parts of the task by reporting the main features and making relevant comparisons across the four countries from 1970 to 2040. An overview is provided at the beginning, noting general trends such as growth in three countries and fluctuations in the Philippines. However, some parts of the response are under-developed or lack full clarity. For instance, the description of the fluctuating trend in the Philippines mixes up historical data points, and the detail regarding Indonesia and Malaysia in later years becomes slightly convoluted. While the main data points are captured, the precision in reporting specific years and percentages is occasionally imprecise, which prevents the response from reaching a higher level of development.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0
The writing demonstrates a coherent overall arrangement with a clear attempt to structure the information chronologically, moving from 1970 through to predictions for 2030 and 2040. Paragraphing is used to separate different time periods and trends. However, cohesion is sometimes faulty or mechanical. Words and phrases like 'meanwhile', 'however', and 'regarding' are used, but referencing is occasionally unclear, such as in the phrase 'for Malaysia its population still accounted the largest population percentage'. The flow between sentences can feel slightly disjointed due to run-on structures and awkward transitions, placing this securely at the mid-level for cohesion.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully employing terms related to data trends such as 'percentage', 'population', 'predictions', and 'gradual'. However, there are noticeable limitations and inaccuracies in word choice and word formation. Non-standard forms and invented words appear throughout the text, including 'increasment', 'declinment', 'acheived', and 'differecement'. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they reflect a limited control over less common lexical items and derivational morphology, keeping the lexical score constrained.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
A mix of simple and complex sentence forms is attempted, such as in the introductory sentence ('The graph breakdowns to show...'). There are frequent errors in grammar, verb forms, and prepositional usage that highlight a limited control of complex structures. Examples of errors include subject-verb agreement issues ('graph breakdowns'), incorrect tense usage and passive/active confusion ('that have lived in cities', 'as the acheived a population'), and missing articles ('as Philippines had'). Punctuation and basic sentence boundaries are occasionally strained by run-on sentences. These errors occur regularly but rarely impede the overall meaning of the text.
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