Band 4.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-17

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 4.0)

The initial table depicts us information about how many changes occur in the total papulation of New york city in the ten-year period of 1800 to 2000.Furthermore, the changes in the public of the five various counties of the city in the same period namely districts are Manhattan,Brooklyn,Bronx, Queens, Staten island.

Overall, it is clear that 2000 accounted for the hihest share whereas,1800 represented the lowest share. However, in 2000 changes in public rates was considerably high then any of the all other categories.

In details, there were [redacted phone] people lived all districts .in 2000 there were lowesst number of people lived in Manhanttan otherwise in all other districts majorty of the people lived in thesedistricts during the same period .

By camparison in 1800 most of the people lived in Manhattan otherwise there were lowest papulation can be seen in other districts during the same periods.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.0

The response attempts to address the prompt by discussing the population figures for New York City and its districts between 1800 and 2000. However, the data presented contains severe inaccuracies and misreadings of the tables. For instance, the student states that 'there were 80009185 people lived all districts', misinterpreting the total population of 8,009,185 as over 80 million. Furthermore, the overview is extremely confused, stating incorrectly that '2000 accounted for the hihest share whereas,1800 represented the lowest share.' The length requirement of 150 words was also not met, as the text is 3 words short at 147 words. Consequently, the task is only partially addressed.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 4.0

The essay is divided into short paragraphs, attempting an introduction, an overview, and body details. However, the logical progression breaks down entirely due to confusing transitions and poor referencing. The phrase 'In details' is unnatural, and the contrast words like 'otherwise' are misused repeatedly (e.g., 'otherwise in all other districts majorty of the people lived'). Cohesive devices are either inaccurate or inadequate, and the overall arrangement fails to present a clear, coherent picture of the data trends.

Lexical Resource — Band 4.0

The vocabulary used is very basic and repetitive, with frequent spelling errors throughout the text (e.g., 'papulation', 'hihest', 'Manhanttan', 'majorty', 'camparison'). The student struggles with basic word forms and collocations, such as 'public rates' instead of population growth or proportions, and 'changes occur in the total papulation'. The range of vocabulary is limited and strained, occasionally causing difficulty for the reader to follow the intended meaning.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 4.0

The grammatical range is extremely limited, consisting mostly of simple and attempted complex sentences that contain heavy errors. There are frequent issues with missing auxiliary verbs, incorrect prepositions, and faulty relative clauses, such as 'there were 80009185 people lived all districts' and 'there were lowest papulation can be seen'. Punctuation and capitalization are also erratic, notably with spacing errors around punctuation marks and lowercase names ('Staten island'). Errors are pervasive and frequently impede communication.

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

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