Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-13

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 5.0)

The population of New York city over three centuries has seen an enormous boom. In the year 1800, the population of the city was a few thousand, this number has increased by a thousand folds in the next century. The district of Manhatten has been notably recieving most of the population increase then the rest of the disctricts.

First of all, the city of New York was recorded to have a population of 79,216 in the 1800. Subsequently, In the next century this number had increased to 3,437,202 and by the end of 2000 the neumral had gone upto 8,009,185.

Secondly, as far as the districts were concerned, the district of manhatten was recorded to have a mere population of 60,515, which made around 76% of the whole city's population in the 1800. Moreover, this value was set to have a drastic change in the 1900, in which around 1,850,093 indivduals were reocorded, again this value is higher then the rest of the disctricts, but this time with a short margin. By the end of the 2000, the districts brooklyn, bronx, queen and staten island overtook manhatten with a record 81% of the whole city's population, amounting to 6,471,089 while manhatten had only 8,009,185 people, constituting only 19% of the whole city's populace.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response covers the main trends shown in the tables, noting the overall population growth of New York City and providing specific data points for the years 1800, 1900, and 2000. Key comparisons between Manhattan and the other districts are attempted, such as Manhattan's initial dominance and subsequent drop in percentage share by 2000. However, there are notable numerical inaccuracies and confusion in the data reporting. For instance, the text states that Manhattan had 'only 8,009,185 people' by the end of 2000, which is actually the total population of the entire city, while the combined population of the other districts is incorrectly stated as 6,471,089. Furthermore, some data points are omitted or slightly confused. These inaccuracies prevent the response from achieving a higher band, placing it firmly at Band 5.5 for partially addressing the task with some unclear or incorrect details.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The response is organised into paragraphs, beginning with an introduction and followed by body paragraphs marked by transitional phrases like 'First of all' and 'Secondly'. However, the logical progression is hindered by mechanical and unnatural sequencing markers that detract from the flow. Referencing is occasionally unclear, particularly in the final paragraph where pronouns and comparisons become tangled, such as comparing the rest of the districts directly against Manhattan's figures in a confusing manner. Paragraphing is attempted, but the grouping of ideas lacks smooth transitions. Overall, the structural arrangement shows some organisation but suffers from faulty cohesive devices and unclear referencing, justifying a Band 5.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The student attempts a range of vocabulary appropriate to a data summary, using terms like 'enormous boom', 'proportion', and 'populace'. However, there are frequent spelling errors ('Manhatten', 'recieving', 'disctricts', 'neumral', 'upto', 'indivduals', 'reocorded', 'queen') and word-choice inaccuracies (e.g., 'thousand folds' instead of 'thousandfold', 'neumral' instead of 'number'). The misuse of key terminology when describing statistical data limits precision. Despite these flaws, the vocabulary used is minimally adequate to convey the general idea of population growth and distribution. These issues reflect a typical Band 5.0 performance for lexical resource due to noticeable spelling and lexical errors that occasionally cause difficulty for the reader.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as 'In the year 1800, the population of the city was a few thousand, this number has increased...' (which results in a comma splice). Grammatical and punctuation errors are frequent throughout the text, including tense inconsistencies ('has seen', 'was recorded', 'had increased', 'has been notably recieving') and preposition errors (e.g., 'in the 1800' instead of 'in 1800', 'higher then' instead of 'higher than'). There are also run-on sentences and punctuation lapses. While some structures are handled correctly, the high frequency of errors places this response at Band 5.0, as the grammatical inaccuracies require effort from the reader to untangle.

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

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