Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-07-30
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 tables outline the population counts in New York city and illustrat how residents numbers varies across its five boroughs during 1800 to 2000.
overall, there are three tables: The first shows how the population of new york city as whole has raisin during the last two centuries, 2000 recorded by far the highest increase in the city's population overall - in comparisen to previous times, the second and thierd tables gives us an insight on how the population density changes between the mahattan and the other districts.
In the first table, there is an obviuos trend, which entails and dramatic increase in the city's population at the beginning of
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response is significantly under the 150-word minimum requirement, which severely impacts the ability to fully address the task. The student provides an introduction and a partial overview but fails to complete the summary or provide any detailed analysis of the data presented in the tables. Because the response is incomplete and stops mid-sentence, it fails to report the main features or make necessary comparisons between the boroughs. To improve, the student must ensure they provide a full analysis of all data sets and meet the minimum word count to allow for sufficient development of ideas.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response shows an attempt at logical organization with an introduction and an overview paragraph. However, the abrupt ending and the lack of a body paragraph structure make it difficult to assess the overall progression. Cohesive devices are used in a limited way, such as 'overall' and 'in the first table', but the text lacks the necessary flow and structure to guide the reader effectively. The paragraphing is also incomplete, as the final paragraph is cut off mid-sentence, which disrupts the coherence of the response.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is somewhat limited and contains several spelling errors, such as 'illustrat' instead of 'illustrate', 'raisin' instead of 'risen', 'comparisen' instead of 'comparison', and 'thierd' instead of 'third'. While the student attempts to use topic-specific vocabulary like 'boroughs' and 'population density', the range is restricted by the brevity of the text. There are also errors in word choice, such as 'entails and dramatic increase', which should be 'entails a dramatic increase'. More attention to spelling and accurate word formation is required to reach a higher band.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The response contains frequent grammatical errors that affect the clarity of the writing. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues ('residents numbers varies' instead of 'resident numbers vary') and incorrect verb forms ('has raisin' instead of 'has risen'). The sentence structures are relatively simple, and the unfinished nature of the final sentence makes it impossible to evaluate the student's ability to use complex structures effectively. Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with the use of capitalization for proper nouns like 'new york city' and 'mahattan'.
Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.