The charts below show the growth in the population in some of the world’s largest cities as well as the population distribution in urban and rural areas.
Sample Response
The bar graph compares the population in five metropolitan areas induring 1970 and 2010 while the table listsoutlines the top five cities with the highest population. Finally, the line graph compares urban and rural the distribution of the populationpopulation distribution from 1980 to 2010.
Generally speaking, Bombay and Jakarta experienced faster population growth than the other citiesthe population growth in Bombay and Jakarta was faster than that of other cities and Tokyo had the largest populationTokyo had the highest residents in 2010. Moreover, a higher number of people started living in urban areas than in rural areas after 2005.
According to the bar graph, more than 15 million people lived in Tokyo in 1970 and that was higher than the figures for New York and Shanghaihigher than that of New York and Shanghai. Bombay’s populationPopulation in Bombay was one-third of Tokyo’sone-third than that of Tokyo and Jakarta had only 2.5 million residents, the lowest figure among the five citiesthe least among the five cities. The population in Tokyo increased to 27.6 million in 2010 and this was the city with the highest population. However, population growth in Bombay and Jakarta, almost 5.5 times, was higher than any other city listed.
The table showsThe table data shows that New York was the most populous city in the world in 1950 with exactly 12.5 million people. London and Tokyo stood in second and third positionsstood at the second and third position in this list while Moscow with its 5.3 million people was in 5th position. In 2010, Tokyo topped the rankingrank followed by Bombay and Lagos.
Finally, worldwide,Finally, globally 3 billion people lived in rural areas in 1980 while fewer than 2 billion lived in citieswhile less than 2 billion in cities. In 2010, the number of city-living-residents upsurged to over 4 billion while it was slightly over 3 in villages.
Why this response received Band 7.5
The response is well organised, with a clear overview and logically separated coverage of all three visuals, and it selects many accurate headline figures. Its main limitation is incomplete and occasionally inaccurate data coverage, especially the omission of the 1990 bar series and the unsupported shared claim that Bombay and Jakarta both grew about 5.5 times. Prioritise comparing all three years and checking each numerical relationship precisely before describing it.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
A clear overview and relevant figures address all three visuals, but the 1990 bar data are omitted and Jakarta's growth is overstated by the shared 5.5-times claim.
Compare representative cities across 1970, 1990, and 2010, and calculate Bombay's and Jakarta's growth separately before reporting it.
Coherence and Cohesion
Information is sequenced logically through a concise introduction, a distinct overview, and well-focused paragraphs for each visual.
Refine a few comparative references so that expressions such as "that of" always point to a precise quantity.
Lexical Resource
The response uses a broad range of topic vocabulary, though several choices and collocations, including "highest residents" and "city-living-residents upsurged," sound unnatural.
Prefer precise, conventional phrases such as "had the largest population" and "the urban population rose" when reporting trends.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A varied mix of simple and complex sentences communicates meaning clearly, despite occasional errors in comparison forms, articles, and agreement.
Check comparative structures and noun agreement, replacing forms such as "one-third than" with "one-third of" and "position" with "positions" where needed.
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IELTS Academic Writing Task 1
The charts below show the growth in the population in some of the world’s largest cities as well as the population distribution in urban and rural areas.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.