Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-10-06

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 5.0)

The graph illustrates the percentage of the population living in four asian countries.

From an overall perspective, malaysia and indonesia is becoming most populated cities in further while philippines and thailand will be the least ones.

To begin with, Indonesia had an 16 milllion population in 1970 which reached to 40 million till 2010 and 55 million and its predicted to reach 55 million in 2040. while, Thailand had the second least popolation in 1970 which is around nearly 20 million which fluctuate in upcoming years till 2010 it high to 30 million and in future it will be around 45 million in 2040.

Furthermore, cities like malaysia had 30 million people in 1970 and till 2010 it comes up till 75 million and it will be 85 million people in 2040 and can be the most populated cities in asia continent on other hand philippines had 32 million population in 1970 in 1990 in reached nearly 50 million after some years it declined to 48 million reduction 2 million and estimated it will reach to 55 million in 2040 .

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0

You identify the chart’s subject and include figures for all four countries, so the response is relevant to the task. However, the overview is inaccurate: Malaysia and Indonesia do not both become the most urbanised; Malaysia is highest by the end, while Indonesia rises strongly but remains below it. The claim that the Philippines and Thailand will be the least is also imprecise, since Thailand is lowest in 2040, while the Philippines is above it. Several figures and trends are misreported: Indonesia is about 64% in 2040, not 55%; Thailand rises gradually rather than fluctuating; and the Philippines falls from about 48% in 1990 to 42.5% in 2010, then increases. Select the main comparisons accurately and distinguish percentages from population totals.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic, useful structure: an introduction, an overview, and two paragraphs grouping countries. Sequencing within the country descriptions is generally chronological, and transitions such as “To begin with” and “Furthermore” help signal movement. However, the overview does not provide a reliable organising summary, and some links between ideas are unclear. For example, “while” begins a new sentence after a full stop, and the long final sentence joins several time points and comparisons without clear boundaries. The repeated “till” also makes the progression sound mechanical. Use clearer sentence divisions and organise the body around contrasting trends, while ensuring each comparison follows logically from the previous one.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some task-related vocabulary, including “percentage,” “predicted,” “declined,” and “estimated,” and these show an attempt to describe change. However, the range is limited and several choices are inaccurate or unnatural for this graph. The repeated use of “population” and “million” treats percentages as numbers of people, while “most populated cities” does not describe the proportion living in cities. Phrases such as “it high to 30 million” and “reduction 2 million” are difficult to interpret. Spelling errors, including “asian,” “milllion,” and “popolation,” also reduce precision. Build a more accurate set of expressions for proportions and trends, such as “the urban population share rose” or “the figure stood at.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple statements and longer sentences, including clauses linked with “while” and “after,” but complex sentences are often faulty and errors occur frequently. Subject–verb agreement is incorrect in “Malaysia and Indonesia is,” and tense and verb forms are problematic in “it comes up” and “it high to 30.” Articles and sentence boundaries are also inconsistent; for example, “in 1990 in reached” lacks a clear grammatical structure, and “while” is incorrectly capitalised after a full stop. These errors sometimes make the intended relationships between figures difficult to follow. Practise accurate past-tense descriptions for historical data and use “is expected to” for forecasts, with shorter, correctly punctuated sentences before attempting longer comparisons.

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