Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-08-01
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 plans of a farm in 1950 and the same site today. Overall, river, soft fruit, farmhouse and vegetables remain on the same place but sheep section is now modernized and tracks are converted into roads.
To begin with, the area for sheep in 1950, was totally changed two parkings are added on the both ends. Solar panels are introduced which produce electricity. Camping field is also available for the campers. The track which separates the other end is now converted into road which is directly connected to the main road.
Turning to, the other side was also changed. The fruit trees were on the same place but a farm shop is build where farmer can sell their fruits. Next to it there was soft fruits and vegetables sections which are not changed. Barn was replaced by holiday cottages. Chickens and farmhouse was untouched. However, barn is directly accessible from road.
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 fails to address the task entirely. The prompt asks for a summary of population data for New York City and its five boroughs based on three provided tables. However, the student has written a description of a farm map, which is a completely different task. Because the response is entirely off-topic and does not address the data provided in the prompt, it cannot be assessed against the requirements of the task. In an official IELTS examination, this would be treated as a memorized or irrelevant response, resulting in a very low score for Task Achievement.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
While the response is organized into paragraphs and uses some cohesive devices like 'To begin with' and 'Turning to', the lack of relevance to the actual task makes the progression of ideas irrelevant. The paragraphing is present, but the logical flow is disconnected from the data that should have been analyzed. Cohesion is attempted, but it serves to structure an off-topic narrative rather than a data-driven report.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is sufficient to describe a map (e.g., 'modernized', 'converted', 'accessible', 'untouched'), but it is entirely inappropriate for the task of summarizing population statistics. There is no evidence of the vocabulary required to describe trends, percentages, or demographic changes (e.g., 'fluctuated', 'significant increase', 'proportion'). The range is limited to the context of the farm description provided by the student.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The student uses a mix of simple and some complex sentence structures, such as 'The track which separates the other end is now converted into road'. However, there are frequent grammatical errors, including subject-verb agreement issues ('Chickens and farmhouse was untouched') and article usage ('on the same place' instead of 'in the same place'). While the meaning is generally clear within the context of the farm description, the grammatical control is inconsistent.
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