Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-07-31
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 table belows shows the overall increase in the papulation of new york city . 0ver a period of time from the year 1800 TO 2000 which includes five different districts of the city new york.
overall the population in the first year mentiod in table was relatively less which had then increase in the next year moreover in the last year the population have a dramatic change and has increased by a lot.
The five district mentiond in table included manhattan, brooklyn queens and lastly staten island . in these five district manhattan population in 1800 the was 60,515 which has increased in 1900 and reached a higher number of around 1,850,093, however in the 2000 in eventually dropped by a few thousand . secondly the other four districts have gained a lot population over a period of time in the 1800 the other distrist have a population of 24 % which has increased to 46% in 1900 and afterwards in2000 the districts have gained a lot of population which has increased to 81%
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 attempts to summarise the data but fails to cover all parts of the task effectively. While it mentions the overall population increase, the analysis of the five districts is incomplete and inaccurate. The student lists only four districts (Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island) and omits the Bronx entirely. Furthermore, the description of the data is vague, using phrases like 'increased by a lot' rather than citing specific figures from the tables provided. The comparison between the districts is also confusing, as the student switches between raw numbers and percentages without clear context, leading to an under-developed response that does not fully address the prompt's requirements.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organised into paragraphs, but the logical progression is weak. The introduction is repetitive, and the transition between the general population overview and the specific district data is abrupt. Cohesive devices are used in a mechanical and sometimes incorrect way, such as the misuse of 'secondly' when introducing the remaining districts. Referencing is also problematic; for example, the phrase 'the other four districts' is confusing because the student only listed three previously. The overall structure lacks the necessary flow to guide the reader clearly through the data presented in the tables.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is limited and repetitive. The student relies on basic verbs like 'increased' and 'gained' throughout the text. There are frequent spelling errors, such as 'belows', 'papulation', 'mentiod', and 'distrist', which distract the reader. The range of vocabulary is insufficient to convey the data with precision; for instance, using 'a lot' is too informal and imprecise for an academic task. To reach a higher band, the student needs to incorporate more varied academic vocabulary, such as 'fluctuated', 'surged', 'proportion', or 'significant growth', and pay closer attention to spelling accuracy.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The response contains frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede communication. There are issues with subject-verb agreement ('the population have a dramatic change'), incorrect verb tenses ('the other distrist have a population'), and missing articles. Punctuation is also inconsistent, with erratic spacing and missing capitalisation for proper nouns like 'New York' and 'Manhattan'. The sentence structures are mostly simple, and attempts at more complex sentences are often marred by errors. The lack of control over basic sentence construction and punctuation significantly lowers the score for this criterion.
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