Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-16
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 given first table demonstrates changes in the total residents of New York City across three centuries, from 1800 to 2000, While the changes in the population of the five districts namely Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island, over the same periods, are displayed in the second and third table.
Overall, The number of residents of New York City experienced a ten-fold growth over three centuries. Furthermore, majority of the population of New York City resided in Manhattan and a significant shift to other districts was observed.
In 1800, the total population of New York City was 79,216, 76% of this number which accounts for 18,701 were living in Manhattan, whilst the rest 18,701 were residing in other districts. In the 20th century, number of residents increased by four times and was 3,437,202. In this time period, the number of residents of other districts almost doubled at 46%, but the Manhattan district still accounted for the largest share of the population, around 1,850,093 at 54%.
New York City population was the highest 8,009,185 at the start of 21st Century. Majority of this accounted for other districts around 81%, whilst Manhattan accounted for only 19% of this total population.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The student covers all parts of the task by reporting the main features of the population changes in New York City and its districts from 1800 to 2000. An overview is successfully provided, noting the overall tenfold growth and the major shift from Manhattan to the other districts. However, there is a notable data contradiction in the first body paragraph: the student states that 76% of the 1800 population accounts for 18,701, but immediately claims 'whilst the rest 18,701 were residing in other districts' (the actual total was 79,216, and the other districts accounted for 18,701, not Manhattan). This misattribution of figures impacts the accuracy of the response, preventing it from reaching the highest bands.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The response has a clear overall progression and is divided into an introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs that handle different time periods. Cohesive devices are used to guide the reader, such as 'Overall', 'Furthermore', and 'whilst'. However, referencing and punctuation errors disrupt the flow slightly, particularly with comma splices in the introduction ('...from 1800 to 2000, While...') and a misuse of capitalization ('Overall, The number...'). Paragraphing is generally appropriate, but the logical arrangement within the first body paragraph is compromised by mathematical and statistical inaccuracies.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary range for the task, attempting some less common collocations and terms such as 'residents', 'significant shift', and 'largest share'. There are, however, noticeable lexical errors and awkward phrasings, such as omitting the article before 'majority' ('majority of the population') and imprecise usage when describing proportions. Spelling is generally accurate, but word choice errors regarding data interpretation ('the rest 18,701') slightly impede precise communication. Overall, the lexical range is sufficient to convey the main trends, but lacks the precision required for higher bands.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The writer uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, incorporating clauses with 'whilst' and relative constructions. However, grammatical accuracy is inconsistent. There are punctuation errors, notably comma splices ('...from 1800 to 2000, While...') and incorrect capitalization after commas ('Overall, The number...'). Furthermore, article omissions ('majority of the population', 'number of residents') and awkward sentence structures recur. While these errors do not completely obscure the meaning, they prevent the majority of sentences from being error-free, placing the writing firmly in the Band 6 category.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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