Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-11-12

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 4.5)

Those three table illustrate information about population of New York city 1800 to 2000 in five disticts.

Overall, New York population was rise by years and in 2000 peacked 8,009,185. Manhattan had considerable huge proportion of population. In 1800 years it took 76%population out of total.Other disricts all togather had the most considerable rose in 2000 as a 81 %.

At the begining of the year in 1800 population of all five districts had encreased. In the first halv Manhattan was popular location, however it decreased and reached the lowest score.

Other distructs of total population were signifucaly grows. Between 1800 and 2000 the number of population in all four districts increased at roughly 81 %.

The popular location was Mnhattan from begining

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You identify the broad rise in New York City’s population and the shift from Manhattan to the other districts, which are relevant main features. However, the account is incomplete and some comparisons are unclear or inaccurate: the other districts’ 81% is their share of the total in 2000, not the percentage by which their population increased. Manhattan’s population rose from 60,515 to 1,850,093 by 1900 before falling to 1,538,096 in 2000, but this sequence is not reported clearly. The response also stops short of the required 150 words, limiting the detail available. To strengthen the summary, give the key figures for all three years and distinguish population totals from percentage shares.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

There is an attempt to organise the response into an introduction, an overview and further details, and phrases such as “Overall” and “however” signal relationships between ideas. Nevertheless, progression is difficult to follow because several statements are vague or repeat earlier points. For example, “Manhattan had considerable huge proportion” and “The popular location was Mnhattan from begining” do not clearly explain the comparison, while “In the first halv” does not specify the period. The final sentence is also incomplete in meaning and adds little. Use one paragraph for the overall trends and another for comparisons across the years, linking each figure explicitly to its district and date.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The response uses some task-relevant vocabulary, including “population,” “proportion,” “total,” “increased” and “decreased,” so the main topic is generally recognisable. However, the range is limited and several inaccurate word choices or collocations make the meaning unclear, such as “considerable huge proportion,” “most considerable rose” and “popular location” for the district with the largest population. Spelling errors, including “disticts,” “disricts” and “encreased,” are also noticeable. Choose precise terms for numerical comparisons: describe a population as rising or falling, and a share as increasing or decreasing. Check spelling carefully and avoid using “popular” when you mean “most populous.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

You attempt a few different sentence patterns, including a contrast with “however” and a time phrase beginning “Between 1800 and 2000.” However, control of basic sentence grammar is inconsistent, and errors sometimes obscure the intended meaning. For example, “New York population was rise” has an incorrect verb form, while “Those three table illustrate” has subject–verb disagreement and a missing plural ending. Several phrases also lack necessary grammatical links, as in “In 1800 years it took 76%population out of total.” The response relies mainly on short, simple statements, with little accurate complex structure. Practise past-tense reporting and complete sentences, then check agreement, articles and punctuation.

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

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