Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-08-13

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 5.5)

The first table illustrates the changes in the overall population of New York City from 1800 to 2000. The second and third tables represent the alter in the population of five different districts of the city named Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, Staten Island over the similar time.

Overall, as the table represents, New York City population had a major increased in every 100 years. Whereas, Manhattan city population had a fluctuation over the period. However, other districts had a rapid growth in the population.

As the table shows, population of New York City in 1800 was accounted at 79,219 and over the 100 years, population had seen an incline trend during the period and reached to 3,437,202 in 1900. Similarly, same trend can be seen in 2000, total population of New York city including five districts were 8,009,185 respectively.

Analyzing further, Manhattan city total population was 76% with 60,515 and over the time it increased with 1,[redacted phone] in 1900. But, population of the Manhattan city had a slight decline in 2000 with 1,538,096 population. In addition, comparing with Manhattan district, rest of the districts had an increasing trend of population over the period. In 1800, the total population were nearly 18,701 with 24% and it reached to 6,471,089 in 2000 with the 81% of total population and noted as highest populated districts of New York city.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response covers the main features of the data, such as the overall population growth and the contrast between Manhattan and the other districts. However, the analysis is hampered by significant inaccuracies in data reporting. For example, the text states Manhattan's population in 1900 was '1,850.093', which is a misreading of the table, and the description of the 'rest of the districts' is confusingly presented. While the overview is present, the lack of precision in reporting the figures and the failure to clearly distinguish between the three tables limits the effectiveness of the response. More careful selection of key data points is required to meet higher band descriptors.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into four paragraphs, which is appropriate for a Task 1 response. There is a logical progression from an introduction to an overview and then to specific details. However, the use of cohesive devices is often mechanical or inaccurate, such as the awkward use of 'Whereas' and 'However' in the second paragraph. Referencing is sometimes unclear, particularly when discussing the 'rest of the districts'. While the paragraphing helps the reader follow the structure, the internal flow is frequently interrupted by awkward phrasing and limited linking words.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The range of vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks precision. There are several instances of word-choice errors, such as 'represent the alter' instead of 'represent the changes' and 'incline trend' instead of 'upward trend'. The use of 'accounted at' is also non-standard in this context. While the student attempts to use some academic vocabulary, the errors occasionally make the meaning slightly unclear. To improve, the student should focus on collocations and the correct usage of nouns and verbs related to data description.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors throughout. Issues include incorrect article usage ('the Manhattan city'), subject-verb agreement ('total population were'), and awkward phrasing ('major increased'). Punctuation is generally functional, but the misuse of decimal points in numbers (e.g., '1,850.093') is distracting. While the errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to lower the score. A greater focus on basic sentence construction and proofreading for grammatical accuracy is recommended.

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.