Band 4.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 4.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-08-20
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 4.0)
The pie chart demonstrates units of electricity produced by fuel source across two countries, Australia and France in the years 1989 and 2000.
Overall, it can be observed that France uses comparatively dramatic amount of fuel source for electricity than Australia.
In Australia, in the years 1989 and 2000, the use of coal as per the fuel source was about fifty units, which significantly surged to one thirty units. While hydropower was used twenty units increasing gently to thirty six units. On the contrary, a significant decline in usage of oil and natural gas can be observed ranging from ten units to two units and twenty units to two units respectively. The total production by 1980 was about hundred units. However, by 2000 it was about one seventy units.
France in the years 1980 and 2000 the total production of units of electricity by fuel source was ninety units and one eighty units. The nuclear power generated fifteen units by 1980 and by 2000 about one twenty six units was generated becoming sharply a vast majority. Whereas, coal remained constant over the years generating the same of twenty five units. In contrast, hydropower and natural gas experienced a great decline in usage. Hydropower was generated five units to two units while natural gas was generated twenty five units to decrease in upto two units. Oil, on the other hand, had generated roughly the same as twenty units with slightly increasing with twenty five units respectively.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 1.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 4.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 1.0
The response is completely off-topic. The prompt provided data regarding the population of New York City and its five districts, but the student wrote a report about electricity production in Australia and France. Consequently, the response fails to address the task requirements entirely. While the student has attempted to summarise data, the content is irrelevant to the provided tables. According to the IELTS criteria, a response that is unrelated to the task must be penalised heavily in Task Achievement as it does not address the prompt at all.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0
Despite the content being irrelevant to the prompt, the student demonstrates a basic ability to organise information. The response is divided into paragraphs, and there is an attempt to use cohesive devices such as 'Overall', 'In Australia', 'On the contrary', and 'In contrast'. However, the logical progression is hampered by the fact that the data being described does not exist in the provided images. The paragraphing is functional, but the lack of connection to the actual task makes the overall coherence ineffective.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student uses a range of vocabulary appropriate for describing data, such as 'significantly surged', 'decline', 'remained constant', and 'sharply'. While these terms are used to describe the wrong data, the lexical range itself is sufficient to convey trends and comparisons. There are some awkward collocations, such as 'dramatic amount of fuel source' and 'as per the fuel source', but the vocabulary is generally adequate for the purpose of describing charts, even if the subject matter is incorrect.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The student uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as 'France uses comparatively dramatic amount' (missing article), 'one thirty units' (informal/inaccurate phrasing), and 'decrease in upto two units' (preposition error). While these errors are frequent, they do not entirely impede communication of the (incorrect) data. The control of grammar is inconsistent, but there is an attempt to use a variety of structures to describe changes over time.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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