Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)
The data describes the change in the total population of New York city from 1800 to 2000, while the other data shows the growth in five areas of the city in the total population.
Overall, the highest number of population recorded in 2000, whereas the lowest population were in 1800. Moreover, Manhattan faced the highest increase in population in 1900, whereas other districts had recorded the most population in 1900.
Although the total population in 1800 had 79,216 in New York, the figure significantly rose in 1900 that was 3,437,202. The peak population had recorded in 2000 with 8,009,185 citizens.
The population in Manhattan accounted for 76% of that total in 1800, whereas other districts had 24% of that total. Population of Manhattan in 1900 had [redacted phone] citizens that almost 54% of that population, however only 19% of the population lived in Manhattan. The figures of citizens in 1900 and 2000 had [redacted phone] and [redacted phone] in other districts of New York amd the percentage of population had 46% and 81% of that total.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The student attempts to address the task by reporting the main features and trends from the tables, such as the overall population growth and the changing proportions between Manhattan and the other districts. However, there are some inaccuracies and confusion in data interpretation. For instance, the sentence 'Manhattan faced the highest increase in population in 1900, whereas other districts had recorded the most population in 1900' is confused and factually misinterprets the 1900 figures where Manhattan actually held 1,850,093 people compared to 1,587,109 in other districts. Furthermore, the sentence 'only 19% of the population lived in Manhattan' contradicts the 2000 data provided in the prompt and mixes up years. While an overview is attempted, the lack of complete clarity and minor data misreadings place this at Band 5.5.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0
The response is structured into four paragraphs, attempting an introductory statement, an overview, and body paragraphs detailing specific data points. However, the logical progression is frequently disrupted by awkward transitions and confusing sentence construction. For example, the sentence 'Although the total population in 1800 had 79,216 in New York, the figure significantly rose in 1900 that was 3,437,202' uses clunky referencing. Cohesive devices are used mechanically (e.g., 'moreover', 'although'), and referencing within sentences (such as 'that was 3,437,202' or 'the figures of citizens in 1900 and 2000 had 1587109 and 6471089 in other districts') makes the relationships between ideas difficult to follow. Paragraphing is present, but internal cohesion is flawed, leading to a Band 5.0 score.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is generally basic and repetitive, relying heavily on terms like 'population', 'district', 'percentage', and 'total'. There are notable word choice and collocation errors throughout the text, such as 'the highest number of population recorded in 2000' and 'other districts had recorded the most population in 1900'. In addition, there is a spelling typo ('amd' instead of 'and') and awkward phrasing like 'The figures of citizens... had 1587109'. While the student attempts to use some task-specific vocabulary (e.g., 'proportion', 'citizens', 'figures'), the lexical control is limited and errors occasionally cause confusion for the reader, fitting the Band 5.0 descriptor.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, though complex structures are frequently faulty or awkwardly phrased. Examples of grammatical errors include missing verbs or incorrect prepositions, such as 'the lowest population were in 1800' (subject-verb agreement error), 'the figure significantly rose in 1900 that was 3,437,202', and 'Population of Manhattan in 1900 had 1850093 citizens that almost 54% of that population'. Punctuation is basic, and frequent grammatical errors cause some difficulty and strain for the reader. Therefore, a Band 5.0 is appropriate.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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