Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-11-10

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

The first table below shows changes in the total population of New York City from 1800 to 2000. The second and third tables show changes in the population of the five districts of the city (Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, Staten Island) over the same period.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

Student answer (Band 5.0)

The first table illustrates New York City's residence count in the year 1800,1900 and 200 and the second also third table presents the changing shared percentage of total population in districts(Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island) of the same years.

Overall, New York City's population growth was very rapid and turned [redacted phone] which was highest over these years. Districts of the city's was changing over the time. And in the year 2000, Manhattan's population was lowest among others which is only 19%. This is the loest compared to other's

Altogether these districts, only 79216 poeple lives in the New York City in 1800 and that turned [redacted phone] over 100 years.But in the year 2000, the number turned into [redacted phone] which was highest among all of those years.

However, 76% residence which is 60515 were lived only in Manhattan but over the time they went to other districts. Shockingly,it turned that 81% people switched to different districts. This is the highest number of people starting from 19%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify the main overall rise in New York City’s population and the shift in population share away from Manhattan, both of which are central features. Several figures are also reported accurately, including 79,216 in 1800, 3,437,202 in 1900, and Manhattan’s 76% share in 1800. However, the account is only partial: it does not clearly report Manhattan’s population decline from 1,850,093 in 1900 to 1,538,096 in 2000, and it gives little detail about the other districts’ growth to 6,471,089. The claim that people “switched” districts is not established by the tables, which show population totals and shares rather than migration. Develop the comparisons more precisely and avoid unsupported explanations.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

The response has a basic structure, moving from an introduction to an overview and then to figures, and words such as “Overall,” “Altogether,” and “However” show an attempt to connect ideas. However, progression is not consistently clear: the overview repeats that the population was highest in 2000, while the final paragraph returns to the district share without clearly comparing all three years. Some links are inaccurate or confusing, particularly “However” before the Manhattan figures and “This is the highest number of people starting from 19%.” References such as “these districts” and “they” are also unclear. Group the city totals together, then compare Manhattan with the combined other districts in chronological order, using clear links between each comparison.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant vocabulary, including “population,” “percentage,” “districts,” and “rapid,” so the topic is generally identifiable. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations make the meaning difficult to follow. “Residence count” is not a natural way to describe population, “changing shared percentage” is unclear, and “people switched to different districts” suggests migration that the data do not show. There are also noticeable spelling errors, such as “loest” and “poeple,” and “turned” is repeated where more precise verbs would help. Use standard data-reporting language such as “population,” “accounted for,” “rose,” “fell,” and “represented,” and check spelling carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response attempts both simple and more complex sentences, for example, “However, 76% residence which is 60515 were lived only in Manhattan but over the time they went to other districts.” However, errors are frequent and sometimes make relationships between ideas hard to understand. Examples include “the city's was changing,” “only 79216 poeple lives,” and “which was highest,” where agreement and sentence construction are faulty. The opening sentence also lacks clear grammatical links between its clauses, and punctuation is inconsistent, including missing spaces after commas and full stops. Practise building accurate comparisons with a clear subject and verb, such as “Manhattan’s share fell from 76% to 19%,” and check agreement, articles, and sentence boundaries.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

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