Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-22

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)

These tables illustarte the data on the population of all five districts of Newyork and how the population change. The five districts include Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens and Staten Island.

Overall, there was surged in residents of Newyork City between 1800 to 2000. Each year in four districts population increased, but only in Manhattan population declined.

There was a dramatic growth in the number of citizens in the year 2000 which was about 8,009,185. Meanwhile, in 1800 there are only few people approximately 79,216 which grrow up in 1900.

However, in the district Manhattan there was 76% people in 1800, after that it declined to 19% in 2000.

In additionally, other districts such as Brooklyn, Bronx, Queenns and Staten Island the population was about 24% in 1800, then shows slight increase in 1900. But in 2000 the number of citizens become double. This shows the number of population increased in 2000 in contast to 1800.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The student attempts to address the prompt by reporting data from the provided tables about New York City's population from 1800 to 2000. However, the task achievement is limited by several inaccuracies and generalisations. For instance, the writer states 'Each year in four districts population increased, but only in Manhattan population declined', which misinterprets the data as Manhattan's population actually rose significantly from 1800 to 1900 before falling in 2000. Additionally, the overview is weak, and the data selection lacks precision, such as describing the 1800 population as 'only few people approximately 79,216 which grrow up in 1900'. While key figures are mentioned, the lack of careful reading of the trends across the specific decades pulls the score down.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The response is divided into short paragraphs, attempting an introduction and an overview. However, the logical progression is frequently disrupted by poor referencing and abrupt transitions, such as 'However, in the district Manhattan...' and 'In additionally, other districts...'. Cohesive devices are used awkwardly or inaccurately, and referencing between ideas is sometimes unclear. Paragraphing is attempted, but the internal flow of information lacks clear cohesion, making the progression difficult to follow at times.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The student demonstrates a very limited vocabulary range with noticeable spelling and word-choice errors that occasionally cause difficulty for the reader. Examples of errors include 'illustarte', 'surged' used instead of a noun form after 'there was a', 'grrow', and 'Queenns'. Phrasing is often repetitive or unnatural, such as 'number of citizens become double' and 'in contast to'. The vocabulary is adequate only for very basic communication and lacks the precision required for a higher academic task score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 4.5

The response shows a very limited range of sentence structures, relying heavily on simple sentences and faulty attempts at complex clauses. Grammatical errors are frequent throughout the text, including tense inconsistencies ('there are only few people', 'which grrow up') and awkward prepositions or connectors ('in residents of Newyork City', 'In additionally'). Punctuation and word forms are often inaccurate, which can cause some difficulty for the reader, though the core meaning remains partially understandable.

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

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