Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-28
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 population of of New York in went high in 3 decades, as shown in the table the lowest pouplation was in year 1800 i.e. 79,216, followed by it being 3,437,202 in year 1900. The highest population was observed in 2000 i.e. 8,009,185.
The district wise comparison shows that Manhattan's total population was highest among all other districts( Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, Staten Island) in year 1800 and 1900.
If we see the year wise comparison we observe that, In 1800 the population of Manhattan was around 60,515 which is 76% of total population, while all other districts population was 18,701 which is 24% of total population.
Year 1900 shows the increase in population to 54% in manhattan which 1,850,093, while 46% of all other districts which is 1,587,109.
The year 2000 is the year which indicates the population of other districts being higher than the population of Manhattan. Highlighting the decrease in percentage of manhattan which is 19% of total population
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The response covers the main trends shown in the tables, noting the overall population growth of New York City from 1800 to 2000, and comparing Manhattan with the other districts over the three given years. However, the overview is rather weak, and some of the data points, such as the percentages and populations, are integrated somewhat mechanically without fully synthesising the overall shift. The writer successfully identifies that Manhattan's population share decreased significantly while the other districts grew, satisfying the basic requirements of Task 1, but lacks a more sophisticated selection of key features.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The response is arranged into paragraphs, but the paragraphing is somewhat disjointed, with several very short paragraphs that disrupt the flow. Cohesive devices are used, but sometimes mechanically or awkwardly, such as 'If we see the year wise comparison we observe that'. Logical progression is present as the student moves from total population to district comparisons chronologically, but referencing is occasionally unclear, and the overall structural progression could be smoother to achieve a higher band.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, with terms like 'population', 'districts', 'percentage', and 'comparison'. However, there are notable spelling errors ('pouplation') and awkward phrasing such as 'went high in 3 decades'. The writer attempts some less common vocabulary ('highlighting the decrease'), but the range remains limited and repetitive, which prevents the response from reaching a higher band score.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The student uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as relative clauses and subordinate clauses (e.g., 'which is 76% of total population'). However, there are frequent grammatical errors and punctuation issues, including missing articles ('in year 1800'), double prepositions ('population of of New York'), and run-on structures. These errors occasionally cause slight confusion for the reader, though they do not completely impede overall communication.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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