Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

The given first table shows the changes in total population of new york city from 1800 to 2000 there are total five districts namely manhattan, brooklyn, bronx, queens and staten island in the given first district in 1800 population is around 76% whereas in 1900 the given population is 54% meanwhile in the given last year 2000, the count of indivuals is 1,538,096 which is considered to be 19% there are some other districts also such as brooklyn, bronx, queens and staten island in the given first year 1800 the population is 24% whereas in 1900 the count of indiviuals is 46% whereas in 2000, the number of people is 6,471,089 which is considered to be 81%.

So we can conclude that, the population is decreased by the year passes in manhattan whereas increased in other districts by some percent.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.5

The response fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 150 words, which significantly impacts the score. While you have identified some main features, the analysis is superficial and lacks a clear overview of the total population trends. You have grouped the districts into two categories (Manhattan vs. the rest), which is a helpful strategy, but the data reporting is repetitive and lacks precision. The response fails to adequately compare the figures across the different time periods provided in the tables, and the lack of sufficient length means the task is not fully addressed.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The response lacks paragraphing, which makes it difficult to follow. The flow of ideas is mechanical and repetitive, relying heavily on simple connectors like 'whereas' and 'in the given'. There is a lack of logical progression; the text reads more like a list of statistics rather than a cohesive summary. Referencing is often unclear, particularly when you refer to 'the given first district' without explicitly naming it as Manhattan at the start. To improve, you should group related data into distinct paragraphs and use a wider variety of cohesive devices.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary is quite limited and repetitive. You frequently use phrases like 'the given', 'the count of', and 'is considered to be', which are not natural in an academic context. There are also spelling errors, such as 'indivuals' and 'indiviuals'. The range of vocabulary is insufficient to demonstrate flexibility or precision. To achieve a higher band, you should use more varied reporting verbs and nouns, such as 'accounted for', 'experienced a decline', or 'represented a significant proportion'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response relies almost entirely on simple sentence structures. There is a lack of complex sentence forms, and the punctuation is poor, with many run-on sentences that lack appropriate full stops. There are frequent grammatical errors, such as 'the population is decreased by the year passes', which should be 'the population decreased as the years passed'. Subject-verb agreement and tense usage are inconsistent throughout the text. You need to focus on using a wider range of structures, including subordinate clauses, to improve your accuracy and complexity.

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

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