Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-04

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 provided tables illustrate changes in the total population of USA cities like Manhattan, New York, and other districts over a 200 year period between 1800 and 2000.

Overall, it is evident that New York City has demonstrated the most largest proportion of population throughout 200 years. New York City experienced a steady upward trend increase to a 8,009,185 number of citizens from a 79,216 number of residents.

Conversely, Manhattan experienced a downward trajectory of total population between 1800 and 2000. Additionally, the proportion of total population in 1800 had decreased from 76% to 19% throughout a 200 year duration. Hence, Manhattan showed a dramatically surge to the number of 1,538,096 individual from the number of 60,515 citizens.

Furthermore, other districts such as Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island have established the escalate of population between 1800 and 2000. It is recognized that other districts had recorded a low number of population as 18,701, on the contrasty, it contributed a dramatic increase to 6,471,086 in 2000.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response covers the main features of the data, such as the overall growth of New York City and the contrasting trends between Manhattan and the other districts. However, the analysis is somewhat superficial. You mention that Manhattan experienced a 'downward trajectory' in population, which is factually incorrect based on the provided data; while its percentage of the total population decreased, the absolute number of residents actually increased significantly. This misinterpretation of the data impacts the accuracy of your summary. Additionally, the introduction contains a factual error by referring to 'USA cities like Manhattan', whereas the prompt clearly identifies these as districts of New York City. To improve, ensure you distinguish between absolute numbers and proportions more clearly.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, with an introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs. You use cohesive devices such as 'Overall', 'Conversely', and 'Furthermore' to link ideas. However, some transitions are used incorrectly or awkwardly, such as 'on the contrasty', which is not standard English. The progression of ideas is generally clear, but the internal cohesion within sentences is sometimes hindered by grammatical errors, making the flow feel slightly mechanical. To reach a higher band, focus on using a wider variety of cohesive devices more naturally and ensure that referencing (e.g., 'other districts') is precise and clear throughout the text.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'trajectory', 'proportion', and 'demonstrated'. However, there are several instances of inaccurate word choice and non-standard collocations. For example, 'most largest' is grammatically redundant, 'dramatically surge' uses an adverb where an adjective or noun phrase is needed, and 'established the escalate' is not a natural way to describe population growth. There is also a spelling error with 'contrasty'. To improve, focus on learning the correct word forms (e.g., 'dramatic surge' instead of 'dramatically surge') and common collocations used in data reporting, such as 'witnessed a significant increase'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. However, there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. Issues include incorrect article usage ('a 8,009,185 number'), awkward phrasing ('a 79,216 number of residents'), and errors in verb tense or form ('had recorded a low number... it contributed'). The misuse of 'the most largest' and 'dramatically surge' indicates a lack of control over basic grammatical structures. While the meaning is generally understandable, the frequency of these errors prevents the writing from reaching a higher band. Focus on subject-verb agreement and the correct use of articles and modifiers.

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

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