Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 4.5 · 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 4.5)
The given illustration in the form of table chart depict the New york city overall population and changes;whereas,second and third table shows five different district population from year 1800 to 2000. The data has been calibrated into numbers and percentage.the highest population number accounted in 2000 and lowest in 1900.
Looking at the given information,overall in year 1800 the population was lowest only with 79,219 population .Then the population increase by 3,437,202 in year 2000.The highest number of population 2000 with 8,009,185.
With regards to remaining information , the population in manhattan was high in two year (1800,1900)but in year 2000 other district have high population rate.In Manhattan 76% population which was only 24% in other districts.Afterthat,54% and 46% population respectively for Manhattan and other districs in year 1900.Lastly,the highest perportion accounted in year 2000 although 19% only population from Manhattan but in other sights 81% population lived .
overall,it is apparently evident that in Mahattan population high in 1800 and 1900 years but due to increase population in year2000 from other four districts increase in umber of population.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 4.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 4.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 4.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 4.0 |
| Overall | 4.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.5
The response attempts to cover the main features of the tables, noting the overall population figures for New York City across the years and mentioning the district breakdowns. However, there are notable inaccuracies in reporting the data. For instance, the student states that the lowest population was in 1900, whereas the tables show the lowest population was actually in 1800 (79,219). Furthermore, the percentage data for Manhattan and the other districts is incorrectly interpreted or communicated, leading to confusion. While the student identifies general trends such as growth over time, the misrepresentation of key data points and lack of precise support pull the task achievement down.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 4.0
The response is divided into paragraphs, but the overall progression of ideas is hindered by poor formatting, punctuation spacing errors, and confusing transitions. For instance, phrases like 'With regards to remaining information , the population...' demonstrate mechanical and awkward linking. Referencing between sentences is often unclear, particularly when discussing the districts and percentages, making it difficult for the reader to follow the comparison of data across the years. Paragraphing is attempted, but internal logical organisation is weak.
Lexical Resource — Band 4.5
The vocabulary used is basic and repetitive, with frequent misuse of terms. Words such as 'illustration', 'calibrated', 'perportion', and 'sights' (intended as 'sites' or 'districts') demonstrate a very limited range and poor control over lexical selection. Spelling and word choice errors are noticeable throughout the text, such as 'Mahattan' and 'umber', which occasionally cause strain for the reader. The student attempts to use less common vocabulary like 'proportion' and 'district', but lack of precision and collocation awareness keeps the score at a lower band.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 4.0
The text displays a severely limited range of sentence structures, relying mostly on simple or faulty complex sentences. There are frequent, heavy grammatical errors, including missing articles ('in year 2000 other district have high population rate'), tense inconsistencies, and severe punctuation issues such as missing spaces after commas and periods. Many sentences are grammatically incomplete or structurally awkward, making them difficult to parse. Errors are frequent across the entire response and regularly impede communication.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.