Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-11-13

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 tables illustrates the changes took place in the overall city population and separate district population. New York City tables displays the changes in total population but, the other two tables gives breif detail about the all five districts of New York City from 1800 to 2000.

Overall, The population has been changed yearly their is a rapid growth in the poppulation, New York City have huge increment in number population. Manhattan have high popluation compatable to other four districts citizen in 1900.

In 2000, the public in New York have be doubled back from 1900. As of the percentages in four districts have improvement but Manhattan have less percentage in 2000.The percentage in Manhattan 60,515 with 76% and 1,538,096 with 19% but in other districts have 18,701 with 24% and 6,471,089 with 81% from 1800 to 2000. The major population in 1900 with 1,850,093 with 54% also the other district with 1,587,109 with 46%. Finally the percentage in Manhattan is declined moreover, other population as increased from 1800 to 2000.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the broad trends: New York’s population grew substantially, Manhattan’s share fell, and the other districts’ share rose. You also include figures from all three years, so the response is relevant to the tables. However, several comparisons are unclear or inaccurate. The statement that the city population “have be doubled back from 1900” is not a clear account of the increase from 3.4 million to 8 million, and “Manhattan have high population” needs to be limited to 1900; by 2000, its population had fallen. The figures for 1800 and 2000 are presented in a confusing sequence, while the 1900 figures are not clearly compared. State the overall population trend accurately, then select and explain the key changes in both population and share.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has an introduction, an overview, and a body paragraph, and it attempts to move from general trends to figures. However, the progression is difficult to follow because several ideas are crowded together and the comparisons shift between years without clear signposting. For example, the sentence beginning “The percentage in Manhattan 60,515 with 76%” combines population counts and percentages without explaining which year each pair represents. “Finally” introduces a repeated summary rather than a distinct final point, and “but” and “moreover” do not always show the intended relationship. Organise the body chronologically or compare Manhattan with the other districts across the three years, using clear links such as “By contrast” and “By 2000.”

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant terms, including “overall city population,” “percentage,” “rapid growth,” and “declined,” showing an attempt to describe trends and proportions. However, the range is limited, and several word choices or collocations make the data hard to interpret: “huge increment in number population,” “public in New York,” and “percentage … have improvement” are not natural ways to describe population figures. Spelling errors such as “breif,” “poppulation,” and “popluation” are also noticeable. Use precise, repeated task vocabulary where appropriate—for example, “population,” “population share,” “increased,” and “accounted for”—and check spelling. This would make your comparisons clearer without requiring more elaborate vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

There are attempts to use longer sentences and contrast, but control is weak: many sentences contain errors in verb forms, agreement, articles, or sentence construction, and these sometimes obscure the meaning. Examples include “The tables illustrates,” “the other two tables gives,” and “New York City have huge increment”; the verbs should agree with their subjects, and the final phrase needs a complete grammatical structure. “The population has been changed yearly” also uses an unsuitable tense and passive form for describing historical data. Punctuation is inconsistent, including the comma before “the other two tables” in the introduction. Practise accurate simple comparison sentences first, then combine them with clauses such as “while” or “whereas” once the basic subject–verb structure is secure.

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