Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-08-23
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 tables illustrate the changes in the population of New York(all five districts), Manhattan and other districts(Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, Staten Island) from 1800 to 2000.
Overall, New York saw an increase in population in the year 2000 in contrast with the other cities whereas, Manhattan saw the least population in the same year but conversely lower than New York and other districts.
New York had the highest population in 1800 with 79,216 whereas, Manhattan was the second highest with 76% of total population and the other four cities had only 24% of total population. Furthermore, in 1900 we can see a surge in the population amongst all the cities with New York being the highest by 3,437,202 and 54% and 46% population in Manhattan and other districts respectively. In the year 2000, New York was still the city with the highest population with 8,009,185 . However, Manhattan saw a decline in the population in contrast with the previous year by 19% in 2000 and the other districts saw a drastic increase in the population by 81% with is double than the population in 1900.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The response covers the main features of the data, including the overall population growth and the shifting proportions between Manhattan and the other districts. However, the analysis is hampered by significant inaccuracies in data interpretation. For example, you state that Manhattan had 76% of the population in 1800, whereas the table shows 76,376 people out of 79,216, which is approximately 96%. Furthermore, the claim that Manhattan saw a 19% decline in 2000 compared to the previous year is not supported by the data, as the table shows a population of 1,537,195 in 2000 compared to 1,487,536 in 1990. These factual errors undermine the accuracy of the report.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organised into an introduction, an overview, and a body paragraph. While there is a logical attempt to sequence the information chronologically, the progression is sometimes confusing due to the inaccurate data reporting. Cohesive devices such as 'furthermore', 'however', and 'in contrast' are used, but they are sometimes applied incorrectly or lead to contradictory statements. For instance, the transition 'in contrast with the other cities' in the overview is vague, as it is unclear which specific data points are being compared. Paragraphing is present, but the internal structure of the body paragraph is somewhat cluttered.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The range of vocabulary is adequate for the task, with attempts to use terms like 'surge', 'drastic increase', and 'proportion'. However, there are issues with word choice and collocation. For example, referring to the five districts as 'other cities' is inaccurate, as they are districts of one city. The phrase 'with is double than' is grammatically incorrect and reflects a limited control over more complex lexical structures. While the vocabulary is sufficient to convey the general topic, it lacks the precision and flexibility required for a higher band score.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. Examples include 'Manhattan saw the least population... conversely lower than New York', which is syntactically confusing, and 'with is double than the population', which contains a major error in relative clause construction. Punctuation is generally functional, but there are issues with comma usage before 'whereas' and 'but'. While the meaning is usually retrievable, the frequency of errors in basic sentence construction prevents the writing from reaching a higher level of accuracy.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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