Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-08-31

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)

One of the three table provides information regarding the total number of people living in the New York city between 1800 and 2000 while the second table gives data about Manhattan population and the last table illustrates population in the other 4 districts.

Overall, the number of citizens increased significantly in the New York city over these 3 centuries. Initially, the Manhattan district contributed the most to the overall population of the city but subsequently, the number of people of the other four districts grew enormously making most of the city population.

The New York population showed a massive growth from year 1800 to

The Manhattan citizenship contributed 76 percent to the overall city population in 1800 at 60,515 people but declined to 54 percent in 1900 which further fell significantly to only 19 percent of the total residents of the city.

On the other hand, the other 4 districts of Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens and Staten Island initially made up only 24 percent of the whole population in year of 1800 but rose massively to 81 percent of total city population in 2000.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response covers the main features of the data, identifying the overall growth trend and the shift in population distribution between Manhattan and the other districts. However, the response is incomplete; it contains an unfinished sentence ('The New York population showed a massive growth from year 1800 to') which disrupts the flow and leaves a key part of the data analysis missing. While the comparison between Manhattan and the other districts is clear, the lack of specific data points for the total population growth (e.g., the 1800 to 2000 figures) means the task is not fully developed.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organised into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the cohesion is somewhat mechanical, relying on basic transition words like 'Overall' and 'On the other hand'. The paragraphing is slightly disjointed due to the incomplete sentence in the third paragraph, which breaks the logical progression of the text. Referencing is generally clear, but the overall flow is hindered by the abrupt ending of the third paragraph and the subsequent jump to specific percentages.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The range of vocabulary is adequate for the task, using terms like 'contributed', 'subsequently', and 'residents'. However, there are some awkward collocations and word choices, such as 'Manhattan citizenship' (instead of 'Manhattan's population') and 'making most of the city population' (which is grammatically imprecise). The vocabulary is sufficient to convey the main points, but 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. There are several grammatical errors, such as 'One of the three table' (should be 'tables'), 'in the New York city' (should be 'in New York City'), and 'in year of 1800' (should be 'in the year 1800'). The incomplete sentence in the third paragraph is a significant error that impacts the grammatical integrity of the response. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they occur frequently enough to limit the score.

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

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