Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)

The line graph demonstrates the percentage of the city population in four Asian countries for a 50 year period from 1970 to 2020 with predictions for another 20 years from 2020 to 2040. In general, an upward trend can be observed for all four countries.

For example, 30% of total population of Malaysia lived in cities in 1970. It rose above 75% in 2020 and expected to be more than 80% in 2040. Similarly, less than 20% of Indonesia's total population lived in cities back in 1970, which increased to about 50% in 2020 and expected to be close to 60% in 2040. A steady increase can be observed for the people of Thailand and Philippines.

Interestingly a dramatic drop can be observed in the percentage of the population of Philippines, living in cities from the year 1990 to 2010. Then it again increased in 2020 and expected to be steadily increasing upto 2040.

As industrialization is increasing, people are moving to cities for work, opportunities, better lifestyle etc. The upward trend of the graph confirms that and it also predicts that more people will be moving to cities in the near future.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the broad upward direction across the four countries and report useful figures for Malaysia and Indonesia, including their high starting-to-ending growth. You also correctly highlight the Philippines’ rise to 1990, subsequent decline to 2010, and recovery. However, the overview is too general: it misses key comparisons, especially that Malaysia becomes the most urbanised country and Indonesia overtakes the Philippines around 2010. The claim that Thailand and the Philippines show a “steady increase” is imprecise, since the Philippines fluctuates markedly. The final explanation about industrialisation and people moving for work is not shown by the graph, so it should be omitted. Focus instead on the main rankings and contrasting trends, and report the forecast values more accurately.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall sequence: an introduction and overview, followed by country examples, a paragraph on the Philippines, and a concluding statement. Paragraphing helps separate the main points, and transitions such as “Similarly” and “Interestingly” make relationships between ideas clear. However, the organisation is not fully effective for a data-summary task. The country-by-country examples do not establish the most important comparisons, and the final paragraph shifts from describing the graph to speculating about causes. Some references, such as “it” in “It rose above 75%,” require the reader to infer that Malaysia’s figure is meant. Grouping countries by contrasting trends and using clearer references would make the progression more purposeful.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

You use a suitable range of trend vocabulary, including “upward trend,” “dramatic drop,” “increased,” and “steadily increasing,” and the meaning is generally clear. Phrases such as “percentage of the population” and “predictions” fit the task. There is also some flexibility in describing change over time, which supports a stronger performance than basic repetition. To improve precision and naturalness, avoid awkward or informal choices such as “back in 1970,” “people of Thailand,” and “upto.” “Dramatic drop” may overstate the Philippines’ decline, which is moderate rather than exceptionally sharp. Use more exact terms such as “urban population,” “fell gradually,” and “is projected to reach,” while ensuring that vocabulary reflects the scale of the data.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 7.0

You demonstrate a useful mix of simple and complex structures, including the relative clause in “which increased to about 50%” and the time clause “from the year 1990 to 2010.” Many sentences are easy to understand, and punctuation generally supports the meaning. Some grammatical errors remain, particularly omitted auxiliary verbs in “and expected to be more than 80%” and “and expected to be close to 60%”; use “is expected.” The opening phrase “the percentage of the city population” also has an awkward grammatical relationship between the nouns. In “a dramatic drop can be observed … from the year 1990 to 2010,” the time expression would be clearer as “between 1990 and 2010.” Check sentence patterns and verb forms when describing forecasts.

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