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 line graph illustrates the percentage of people living in cities in four different Asian countires which are Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia between 1970 to 2020, with future prediction for 2030 and 2040.
Overall, the percentage of population in Malaysia is drastically increased upword, while the people in other thre countries are gradually rose.
Specifically, In 1970 the Malaysian perentage was 30% which was slightly below then the Philippines. But after 1990 the it is surprisingly spiked up and in the future prediction 2040 the percentage will be arounf 80%.
Further more, the other three Asain countries there population is gradullay increasing while there beginging is different from each other. In 1970 the population was 14% in Indonesia, 19% in Thailand and 32% in Philippines. All three countries population started increasing after 1980, although the percentage of Philippines dropped in 2010 to 45% and then start climbing again. In future 2040 there percentage estimation is 60% in Indonesia, 45% in Thailand and 60% in Philippines.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| 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 comparisons between the four countries. An overview is attempted, stating that Malaysia increased significantly while others rose more gradually. However, some key features and data points are under-developed or inaccurately described. For instance, the student states that the 2040 percentage will be around 80% for Malaysia (which is close to the 83.5% shown in the graph), but gives incorrect final figures for Indonesia and the Philippines, claiming both will be at 60% in 2040 when the actual figures are 64% and 55.5% respectively. The general trends are identified, but some specific data details lack precision and certain body paragraphs blur trends across countries rather than clearly structuring the comparative information.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0
The response maintains a coherent overall arrangement with a clear division into an introduction, an overview paragraph, and two body paragraphs focusing on specific details. Information is generally organised by grouping Malaysia separately from the other three countries. However, cohesion is at times mechanical or faulty. The use of transitional markers like 'Further more' (written as two words) and 'Specifically' shows an attempt to structure the writing, but referencing is sometimes unclear, such as 'after 1990 the it is surprisingly spiked up' where pronoun use disrupts the flow. Paragraphing is present and logically attempted, but internal cohesion within the final paragraph becomes slightly cluttered due to a high density of comparative data compressed into single sentences without smooth transitional links.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, attempting some less common items such as 'drastically increased', 'surprisingly spiked up', and 'gradually increasing'. However, there are notable spelling errors ('countires', 'thre', 'perentage', 'arounf', 'Asain', 'gradullay', 'beginging') and inaccurate word forms or choices ('the people in other thre countries are gradually rose', 'their beginging is different'). While these lexical slips and spelling mistakes do not entirely impede communication, they restrict the vocabulary score to a moderate band due to the frequency of surface-level errors in basic and less common words alike.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, incorporating time clauses and comparative structures. However, control of grammar and punctuation is inconsistent, resulting in frequent errors that affect clarity. Examples include tense and verb form errors ('are gradually rose' instead of 'gradually rose', 'then start climbing' instead of 'then started climbing'), subject-verb agreement issues ('there population is gradullay increasing', 'All three countries population started'), missing articles ('In 1970 the Malaysian perentage...'), and run-on structures. These errors require some effort to decode, though the overall meaning can still be pieced together.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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