Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-18
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 tables compare the variation in the total population of new york city and other five cities from year 1800 to 2000.
Overall, In these years the number of population in newyork and in other districts including (Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, Staten Island) increased exponentially while in Manhattan the percentage of total population declined significantly.
By digging deep, It can be fetched that in 1800 the total population of new york was 79,216 and by the year 2000, it surged 10 times with upto 8009,185 people.
On the one hand, the percentage of total individuals in Manhattan in year 1800 was 76 percent which however it fell drammatically with only 19 percent people in the year 2000.
While, on the other hand, the total number of population in (Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, staten Island) in 1800 was only 24 percent but it increased sharply by 2000 with 81 percent of total population.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0
The student covers all parts of the task by reporting the main features of the overall population and comparing Manhattan with the other districts across the specified years. An overview is successfully presented in the second paragraph, capturing the exponential growth of the total population and the contrasting proportional decline in Manhattan. However, there are minor issues with precision; for instance, the student refers to "other five cities" instead of districts, and the wording "surged 10 times" is slightly inaccurate given the jump from 79,216 to 8,009,185 is actually closer to a hundredfold increase. Nevertheless, the key trends and percentage shifts (76% to 19% in Manhattan) are accurately highlighted and supported with data from the tables, satisfying the requirements for Band 6.5 or 7.0.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response is organized into a logical structure with an introduction, an overview paragraph, and body paragraphs that handle specific comparisons. Cohesive devices such as "Overall", "On the one hand", and "While, on the other hand" are employed to structure the comparisons. However, some paragraphing choices are awkward, such as the single-sentence paragraph beginning with "By digging deep", which feels informal and breaks the academic flow. Referencing is generally clear, but the overall progression could be smoother with more sophisticated linking words. Overall, the essay displays a coherent arrangement that fits the Band 6 descriptor well.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student attempts a reasonable range of vocabulary suitable for a task 1 response, utilizing terms such as "exponentially", "declined significantly", "surged", and "drammatically". However, there are notable word choice and phrasing issues, such as "other five cities" (instead of districts) and the overly colloquial transition "By digging deep, It can be fetched that". There are also minor mechanical issues with capitalization ("new york city", "newyork", "staten Island"). While the vocabulary is adequate to convey the data, these lexical inaccuracies and informal slips keep the score at Band 6.0.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The student uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, incorporating relative clauses and contrastive structures ("While, on the other hand..."). Grammatical control is mixed; there are several errors in punctuation, capitalization, and phrasing, such as "the number of population" (instead of "the population") and "with upto 8009,185 people" (missing a space and incorrect preposition usage). Punctuation errors are also present, such as unnecessary commas after introductory elements like "Overall, In these years..." and "By digging deep, It can be...". Despite these errors, meaning is rarely impeded, demonstrating typical Band 6 characteristics.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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