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 give information about the demography in New York City, between 1800 and 2000. The first one illustrates the changes in population of New York City in general, and the other two tables provides data in detail for its five districts (Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx, Queen and staten island).
Overall, the population of New York kept rising dramatically from barely one million to more than eight million in only two decades, with Manhattan being the most populated, with a percentage of three-quarters, followed by one quarter of the other five districts together.
In 1800, The demography rate was under one million in all New York City, with the hughManhattan
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 4.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.0
The student attempts to address the task by introducing the tables and providing an overview. However, there are significant factual inaccuracies in the overview and body; for instance, the writer states the population rose from 'barely one million to more than eight million in only two decades', whereas the data spans two centuries (1800 to 2000). Furthermore, the response is severely incomplete due to breaking off mid-sentence ('hughManhattan') and failing to report the 2000 data fully. Crucially, the response falls well short of the minimum 150-word requirement, containing only 110 words, which heavily impacts Task Achievement.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0
The text begins with a reasonably structured introductory paragraph and an overall statement introduced by 'Overall,'. However, because the text cuts off abruptly in the third paragraph, the logical progression is interrupted and cohesive devices cannot be fully evaluated. Paragraphing is initiated properly, but the lack of completion prevents the development of a fully coherent response. Referencing is attempted with 'The first one' and 'the other two tables', but overall organizational control breaks down due to the premature ending.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The student demonstrates a basic working vocabulary with attempts at topic-specific terminology such as 'demography', 'population', 'districts', and 'percentage'. There are some lexical errors and awkward formations, such as 'demography rate' instead of population figure, and a typo ('hughManhattan'). The range is somewhat limited and repetitive, which, combined with the lack of sufficient length to demonstrate a wider variety of vocabulary, restricts the score to a Band 5.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The writer attempts some complex structures, such as participial phrases ('with Manhattan being the most populated...'). There are grammatical errors and awkward phrasing, including subject-verb agreement or phrasing issues like 'the other two tables provides' (plural subject with singular verb). The response also ends abruptly with an incomplete sentence fragment ('with the hughManhattan'). Although simple sentences are generally clear, the overall control of grammar is limited by the frequent errors and the truncated nature of the writing.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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