Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-03
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 in the report illustrates the changes in population in New York city and its five districts during the time period of two centuries.
Overall, the New York City has a drastic increase in its population over two centuries from the year 1800 to 2000. The other four districts of New York city except Manhattan, has a vast increase in its population from 24% to 81%.
The New York city has has a huge increase in its total population from 79,216 to 8,009,185 between years 1800 to 2000. Whereas, the population of Manhattan district slightly rises from 60,515 to 1,538,096 as compared to other four districts, which has a total increase in its population from 18,701 to 6,471,089 between two centuries in New York city.
To conclude, the four districts of New York city except Manhattan has a significant large impact in increasing the total population of the city between two centuries.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The response provides a basic overview of the population trends but fails to fully address the task requirements. While it mentions the total population and the growth of the districts, it lacks a detailed breakdown of the individual districts (Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, Staten Island), grouping them together instead. This leads to an over-generalisation that misses the specific data points provided in the tables. To improve, you should highlight key differences between the districts, such as the rapid growth of Brooklyn or Queens compared to the more stable growth of Manhattan, rather than just providing a summary of the total figures.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organised into an introduction, an overview, and a body paragraph, which provides a basic structure. However, the progression of ideas is somewhat repetitive, particularly in the body paragraph where the same data points are restated. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Whereas' and 'To conclude', but they are sometimes used mechanically or with grammatical errors. The referencing is occasionally unclear, making it difficult for the reader to follow the comparison between the districts effectively. Improving the logical flow between sentences would enhance the coherence of the response.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks the precision and range required for a higher band. You rely on basic descriptors like 'drastic increase', 'vast increase', and 'huge increase', which are repetitive. There are also some minor errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'The tables in the report illustrates' (should be 'illustrate') and 'significant large impact' (should be 'significantly large' or 'significant impact'). To achieve a higher score, try to incorporate more varied and precise vocabulary related to data trends, such as 'surged', 'experienced a steady rise', or 'accounted for'.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues ('The tables... illustrates', 'New York city has has'), incorrect article usage ('the New York city'), and awkward phrasing ('the other four districts... has a vast increase'). While the meaning is generally understandable, the frequency of these errors prevents the response from reaching a higher band. Focusing on proofreading for basic subject-verb agreement and article usage would significantly improve the accuracy of your writing.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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