Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-23
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 charts illustrate the overall population changes in New York City, Manhattan and other districts over two decade.
Overall, New York has recorded a substantial increase in the population over the years and reached to the highest figure, followed by other districts which has also noticed considerable changes over two decade. Whereas, Manhattan has recorded plummeted number of total people.
New York City has initially recorded low number of people which were around 79,216 and increased dramatically from [redacted phone], ultimately become the densly populated among others. In addition, Manhattan recorded a surge in total population, in 1800, made up almost 76%, but fell significantly to the lowest population, which accounted for 19%.
While other districts recorded the second-highest population changes after New York and acccounted for 81% of overall population. They have increased significantly over the years, being 24% only in 1800, they reached to the second-highest populated districts.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0
The response makes an attempt to summarise the provided data, addressing the main trends regarding New York City and its districts over the 200-year span. However, there is a notable under-length penalty since the response contains only 149 words, falling just short of the 150-word minimum. Furthermore, some of the data interpretation is slightly confused; for instance, stating that Manhattan recorded a 'plummeted number of total people' ignores the fact that Manhattan's population actually grew significantly from 1800 to 1900 before declining by 2000. Additionally, the phrasing regarding percentages and population rankings contains inaccuracies and misinterpretations of the source tables. Overall, the task is only partially addressed due to data misreadings and the length deficiency.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The text is organized into four paragraphs, providing a logical framework with an introduction, an overview, and separate body paragraphs. However, logical progression is sometimes hampered by awkward transitions and confusing statements, such as 'Whereas, Manhattan has recorded plummeted number of total people.' Cohesive devices are used, but they are sometimes mechanical or inaccurately applied, as seen with the dangling modifier 'Whereas' and repetitive phrasing like 'over two decade.' Paragraphing is attempted adequately, but the overall cohesion suffers from imprecise referencing and abrupt shifts between ideas.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is adequate to communicate basic trends, featuring terms such as 'substantial increase,' 'dramatically,' and 'surge.' However, there are frequent lexical errors and inappropriate collocations throughout the text, including 'plummeted number of total people,' 'densly populated,' and 'acccounted for.' The student attempts some less common vocabulary, but word choice and spelling inaccuracies ('densly') are noticeable and occasionally impede clarity. Repetition of basic structures and timeframes ('over two decade') further limits the lexical range.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, incorporating relative clauses and subordinate structures. However, frequent grammatical and mechanical errors reduce accuracy. Examples of errors include 'over two decade' (plural noun agreement), 'reached to the highest figure' (unnecessary preposition), 'ultimately become' (tense consistency), and punctuation issues. While communication is not entirely obscured, the high frequency of grammatical slips in simple and complex structures prevents the response from achieving a higher band.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.