Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-08-15
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)
This table depicts comparison of New York 's population to five different cities that includes Manhattan, brooklyn and so of year ranges from 1800 to 2000. I will be showing comparison in upcoming paragraph.
The first table shows population of New York in year 1800 is 79,216 while it drastically increased in year 1900 around 3,437,202. Furthermore it reached at peak of 8,009,185 in year 2000.
On the other hand, percentage of population of Manhattan is compared with other cities such as Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, Staten Island).
To start with, in year 1800 76% of population was there that decreased to 54% although the total number was around 1,850,093. lastly, in year 2000 it continued to decrease till 19% about 1,538,096.
Population of other districts began around 18,701 in year 1800 with percentage around 24 which inclined to 46% in year 1900. In year 2000 it jumped drastically and reached to 81% that was around 6,471,089.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The response provides a basic overview of the data but fails to fully address the task requirements. While it identifies the total population growth and some percentage shifts, it lacks a clear, analytical summary of the main features. The comparison between the five districts is poorly handled; the student groups them as 'other districts' rather than detailing the specific trends for each, which is a key requirement of the prompt. Furthermore, the introduction is informal and includes unnecessary meta-commentary ('I will be showing comparison...'), which is not appropriate for an Academic Task 1 response. The data selection is incomplete and lacks the necessary depth to provide a comprehensive overview of the provided tables.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0
The response is organised into paragraphs, but the logical progression is weak. The use of cohesive devices is mechanical and sometimes inaccurate, such as the abrupt transition 'On the other hand' which does not logically connect the preceding paragraph to the next. Referencing is also problematic; the student refers to 'other cities' when the prompt clearly identifies these as 'districts' or 'boroughs' of New York. The paragraphing is present but does not effectively group the information to guide the reader through the data trends. Overall, the flow of information is disjointed, making it difficult to follow the comparison of the different data sets.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The vocabulary is limited and repetitive. The student relies on basic verbs like 'shows', 'increased', and 'reached', which restricts the ability to describe the data with precision. There are also issues with word choice and collocation, such as 'inclined to 46%' (which is mathematically imprecise and stylistically awkward) and 'jumped drastically'. The student also struggles with terminology, referring to the boroughs as 'cities'. While the meaning is generally conveyed, the lack of variety and the misuse of specific terms prevent the response from reaching a higher band. Spelling errors, such as 'brooklyn' (lowercase), also detract from the overall quality.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The response contains a mix of simple and some attempted complex structures, but accuracy is inconsistent. There are frequent errors in articles ('in year 1800' instead of 'in the year 1800'), prepositions ('reached at peak'), and sentence construction. For example, the sentence 'This table depicts comparison of New York 's population to five different cities that includes Manhattan, brooklyn and so of year ranges' is grammatically cluttered and confusing. Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with the use of parentheses and commas. While the errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to be noticeable throughout the text.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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