Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-15

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 three tables depicted changes in the whole population of New York city from1800 to 2000. The second and third tables also shows changes in the population of five district of City over the same period.Firstly , population of new york city of all five districts in three last three centuries .In 1800 population of these districts was 79,216 in the next century 1900, poopulation majority reached to 3,437,202 and in the century of 2000 it is dominant century with populace of 8,009,,185. In the second table Manhattan inhabitants was 60,515 as percentage was 76% of total population which is higher than the inhabitants of other four districts of new york city and the population was 18,701 in 1800 which is 24% of total populace. In 19th century, population was 1,850,093 of Manhattan which is 54%of total population and the total population to other four districts in 19th century is 1,587,109 which relatively 46% of total inhabitants . At last in 20th century Population of Manhattan is 1,538,096 whichis 19% of total populaIce. And population of other four districts in 20th century was 6,471,089 and it is 81% of total population. In 20th century population of five districts of new york is 8,009,185 and this was dominant of inhabitants than other two centuries.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The student attempts to address the prompt by reporting figures from all three tables across the years 1800, 1900, and 2000. However, the response lacks a clear overall trend summary or overview, which is essential for Band 6 and above in Academic Task 1. While the figures provided for Manhattan and the other districts (e.g., 60,515 in 1800, 1,850,093 in 1900) generally match the visual data, the reporting is somewhat mechanical and listing-heavy. Furthermore, there are minor inaccuracies and confused phrasings in how the data is interpreted. To reach higher bands, the response needs a distinct overview paragraph highlighting the shift in population dominance from Manhattan to the other four districts over the two centuries.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 4.5

The organization of the response is heavily impaired by poor paragraphing. The text is written as one large, unbroken block of text rather than well-structured paragraphs, which violates basic Academic Task 1 conventions and directly impacts the Coherence and Cohesion score. Cohesive devices are used, but they are often awkward, repetitive, or mechanically forced (e.g., 'At last in 20th century'). Although there is a chronological progression from 1800 to 2000, the lack of paragraph division and weak transitional phrases make the text difficult to follow. Pronoun referencing and substitution are also frequently unclear, requiring the reader to work harder to understand relationships between the data points.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary range to communicate basic numerical data, using words such as 'population', 'districts', 'percentage', and 'inhabitants'. However, there are frequent lexical errors, incorrect word forms, and typos (e.g., 'poopulation', 'populaIce', 'dominant of inhabitants' instead of 'dominant in terms of inhabitants'). Less common vocabulary is attempted but rarely used accurately or naturally. Word choices often lack precision, such as referring to a century as 'the century of 2000'. While the errors do not completely prevent the reader from understanding the figures, they occur with enough frequency to restrict the score to Band 5.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but control over grammar and punctuation is weak throughout. There are frequent errors in subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'The three tables depicted' instead of 'depict', 'table also shows'), missing articles, and awkward relative clauses (e.g., 'which is 54%of total population and the total population to other four districts...'). Punctuation is also problematic, marked by missing spaces after commas, run-on sentences, and double commas (e.g., '8,009,,185'). Because errors are frequent and cause distraction, the response falls firmly into the Band 5 descriptor category.

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

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