Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-11-14

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 5.5)

the first table give to us the devolpement of the citizens amount in new york cite since 1800 to 2000 .the second and the third tables illustrate the procces in the indivudials persons who lives in the five districts of the province manhattan .brooklyn.brinx.queens.staten island over the same period.

overal.new york city has seen a substincial devolepement in the amount of citiznes in 1800 there was 79.216 and after 200 years it extermely raised to [redacted phone] wich is consedirable procces.

firstly in the middle years of new york the majourity of people were living in manhattan by 76 per cent and by the coming of years it start decreasing dramaticaly by 54 percent in 1900 and it has an observable falling in the amount of population in 2000 by 19 per cent on the oppossit other districts and unlike new york the proccec here is raising yaear after year there for we see in 1800 the percontage was 24 per cent and it start increasing romarkebaly to 46 per cent in 1900 and he statictics has been rised to 81 per cent in 2000.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the main overall change: New York City’s population grew substantially, while Manhattan’s share fell and the other districts’ share rose. The percentages you report for 1800 and 2000 match the tables, and you include the key 1900 shares. However, the account is only partly developed: the total population in 1900 is omitted, and the important contrast in Manhattan’s actual population is not clearly explained—it rose to 1,850,093 in 1900 before falling to 1,538,096 in 2000. The overview also describes growth generally without clearly summarising that the city’s total more than doubled between 1900 and 2000. Select and report these key comparisons more precisely.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

There is a basic overall structure: an introduction, an overview beginning “overall,” and a paragraph comparing Manhattan with the other districts. This gives the reader a general route through the information. However, progression within the comparison is difficult to follow because several ideas are joined into one long sentence, especially the section beginning “firstly in the middle years.” Connectors such as “on the opposite” and “there for” are either unclear or used awkwardly, and the repeated “and” does not show the relationship between figures precisely. Use separate sentences for the two groups, organise each chronologically, and use clear links such as “By contrast” and “Meanwhile.”

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You attempt some task-relevant vocabulary, including “substantial,” “majority,” “percentage,” and “dramatically,” and the reader can generally identify the topic and direction of change. However, many spelling errors and inaccurate word choices make the vocabulary noticeably unreliable: “devolpement,” “citiznes,” “procces,” and “statictics” recur or obscure meaning. Some expressions are also unnatural for describing tables, such as “the process in the individuals persons” and “the province Manhattan.” Prefer precise, standard terms such as “population,” “population share,” “districts,” “increased,” and “declined.” Check spelling carefully and avoid using ambitious words unless their meaning and collocation are certain.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response attempts to combine ideas in longer sentences, but control is limited and errors are frequent enough to make some relationships difficult to understand. For example, “the first table give to us” has subject–verb and word-order problems, while “it start decreasing” and “the statistics has been rised” show errors in tense, agreement, and verb form. Sentence boundaries and punctuation are also inconsistent: the opening uses full stops between district names, and the long comparison sentence contains several clauses without clear separation. Build a reliable base with accurate simple past forms (“the population rose,” “the share fell”), then add controlled complex sentences using “while” or “whereas.”

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.