Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-27
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 first table depicts the figure of total population change in New York from 1800 to 2000. Moreover, the remaining two tables shows changes in total population in five various district of New York, in the same period.
It can be seen clearly that New York had 79,216 of total population, in 1800. However, this figure rose very dramatically and by the year 1900, New York had 3,437,202 of total population. After 10 decades, this count got more than doubled, reaching at a total of 8,009,185 people living in New York.
Nevertheless, it can be noticed that 60,515 people lived in Manhattan in year 1800, which consists 76% of total population. However, remaining 4 districts ( Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, Staten Island ) accounted for the remaining 24% of the population, which are 18,701 peoples.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0
The response covers the main features of the overall population growth and includes details from the first two tables regarding Manhattan in 1800. However, the report is incomplete as it fails to discuss the 1900 and 2000 figures for Manhattan, nor does it address the data for the other four districts provided in the third table. Furthermore, the response falls short of the 150-word minimum requirement, containing only 134 words. This under-length impacts the overall development and completeness of the task. Consequently, Task Achievement is limited.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The essay is divided into three distinct paragraphs, providing a logical introductory and body structure. Cohesive devices are used to connect ideas, such as "Moreover", "It can be seen clearly", and "Nevertheless". However, referencing and progression are somewhat mechanical. For instance, the transition into the third paragraph introduces Manhattan data abruptly without clearly linking it back to the broader geographical breakdown of the city's districts. Paragraphing is present, but the final section is cut short due to the overall length constraint.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is generally adequate for the task, with attempts at less common phrasing such as "rose very dramatically" and "accounted for the remaining". However, there are noticeable lexical and collocation errors, such as "figure of total population change" instead of 'population figures', and the unidiomatic phrasing "reaching at a total" and "peoples" (which is non-standard pluralisation). The range is limited, but sufficient to convey basic meaning despite these inaccuracies.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as subordinate clauses ("which consists 76% of total population"). However, there are several grammatical errors and awkward structures, including subject-verb agreement issues ("two tables shows" instead of 'show'), incorrect prepositions ("reaching at"), and missing relative pronouns or incorrect participle forms ("which are 18,701 peoples"). Punctuation around parentheses also shows minor clumsiness. These errors occasionally cause slight difficulty, but communication is not severely impeded.
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