Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-14
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 three tables provide data on the shift in the population: first table of New York City, second of Manhattan district, and third one of three other districts (Brooklyn, Broxn, Queens, and Staten Island), during 1800 and 2000.
Overall, the people count of New York City experienced by far a significant growth and dominated among other five districts throughout the period. While other four districts overtook Manhattan by a naticeable margin in terms of the population size by the end of the period.
Regarding New York City where the number of people was 79,216 in 1800, reaching 3,437,202 in 1900, and hovered in 2000 at 8,009,185. A total 1000% increment recorded over the whole period.
Furthermore, the population of Manhattan was 60,515 in 1800, and other four districs were having 18,701 people in the same year. However, other districs recorded a massive growth and reached 6,471,089 in 2000, leaving behind Manhattan in the population share. In 1900, both Manhattan and other four districts shared nearly equal proportion of people, 54% and 46%, respectively.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0
The student successfully addresses all parts of the task by reporting the main features of the tables, including the total population figures for New York City and the breakdown for Manhattan and the other four districts across the years 1800, 1900, and 2000. Key comparisons are made, such as the overall population growth and the shift in population share between Manhattan and the other districts. However, there are minor inaccuracies in categorising the data, as the student groups Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island together rather than detailing them individually, and misspells 'Bronx' as 'Broxn'. Despite these minor limitations, the overview is clear and the main trends are adequately highlighted, earning a solid Band 6.5.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response is structured into an introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs that discuss specific data points. There is a clear overall progression, moving from general city-wide population growth to district comparisons. Cohesive devices such as 'Overall', 'While', 'Regarding', and 'Furthermore' are employed to connect ideas, though some transitional phrasing feels slightly mechanical or awkward (e.g., 'hovered in 2000 at'). Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different aspects of the visual data. Reference and substitution are generally clear, though referencing 'other four districts' becomes slightly repetitive. This performance fits comfortably within the Band 6 descriptor.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common items such as 'significant growth', 'dominated', 'proportion', and 'increment'. However, there are noticeable lexical errors, awkward collocations, and spelling mistakes throughout the text (e.g., 'people count' instead of 'population', 'naticeable' instead of 'noticeable', 'Broxn' instead of 'Bronx', and 'districs' instead of 'districts'). While these vocabulary errors do not completely impede communication, they restrict the score to a Band 5.5, as precision and style are somewhat compromised.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The student demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, incorporating relative clauses and introductory prepositional phrases. There are, however, several grammatical errors and awkward phrasing choices, such as 'experienced by far a significant growth', 'where the number of people was 79,216 in 1800, reaching 3,437,202... and hovered', and 'other four districs were having 18,701 people'. Punctuation is generally acceptable, but structural control slips when handling complex verb tenses and participles. These frequent errors in grammar and word order place the writing firmly in the Band 5.5 category.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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