Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-10-17

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 6.0)

The line graph illustrates regarding the proportion of people living in citities of four Asian countries from 1970 to 2020 with its projection for 2030 to 2040.

Overall, All of the four countries faced gradual increase throughout the years. Malaysia have hightest number of people living in cities with forcasting to gradually increase further. Meanwhile, Thailand have its lowest.

To begin with, Malaysia and Phillippines have 30% of its people living in cities by 1970. The number for malaysia steadily and consistently increased over the years and reached to 75% in 2020 with prediction to get aroun 80% by 2040 while phillipines increased at first then faced a slightly decrease to 40% in 2010 and will get to about 50% by 2040.

Thailand and Indonesia initially started off with around 14% and 19% in 1970 respectively. They both faced upward trend and reach to 25% approximately in 2000. After that indonesia spike up and gets to 55% while thailand remained steady and projected to be reached to 45% accordingly.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You identify the main overall pattern: urbanisation rises in all four countries, Malaysia remains the highest, and Thailand is comparatively low. You also select useful comparisons, including the Philippines’ rise and subsequent dip and Indonesia’s stronger later growth. Most figures are broadly aligned with the graph, but some details are inaccurate or imprecise: Malaysia is about 76% in 2020, not 75%; the Philippines falls to roughly 42.5% in 2010, rather than 40%; and Thailand and Indonesia do not both reach about 25% in 2000—both are around 30.5%. The overview also calls Thailand the lowest without clarifying that this applies mainly at the start; Indonesia begins lower. More precise comparisons and a clearer account of the final rankings would strengthen coverage.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear four-paragraph structure, moving from an introduction and overview to two country groupings. Phrases such as “To begin with” and “After that” help signal progression, and grouping Malaysia with the Philippines and Thailand with Indonesia is a sensible organising choice. However, the comparisons within the final paragraph are not always easy to follow: “They both faced upward trend and reach to 25% approximately in 2000” blurs the different trajectories and gives an inaccurate shared milestone. The overview’s “Meanwhile, Thailand have its lowest” is also unclear about what is lowest and when. Use more precise linking and reference, and organise each paragraph around a clear comparison or period to make the progression more controlled.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a relevant range of trend vocabulary, including “steadily,” “consistently increased,” “slightly decrease,” “upward trend,” and “spike up.” These choices make the general direction of change understandable. However, several spelling and word-choice errors are noticeable, including “citities,” “hightest,” “forcasting,” “aroun,” and “Phillippines.” Some expressions are also imprecise or unnatural for describing a graph: “faced gradual increase,” “gets to,” and “remained steady” do not convey the trends as accurately as they could. Aim for accurate forms such as “experienced a gradual increase,” “rose to,” and “levelled off,” and check country names carefully. This would make the vocabulary more precise and appropriate to an academic report.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a contrast between the Philippines’ decline and later forecast, and the sentence beginning “After that Indonesia…”. The main ideas remain understandable, but errors in agreement and verb forms recur: “Malaysia have” should be “Malaysia has,” “Thailand have” should be “Thailand has,” and “They both… reach” needs a consistent past form such as “both rose.” There are also awkward grammatical patterns in “with its projection” and “projected to be reached,” where a more direct construction would be clearer. Capitalisation and punctuation are inconsistent, as in “Overall, All.” Practise accurate subject–verb agreement and tense control while retaining varied sentence structures.

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