Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)
We have got a total of 3 tables. The first one show us total population of New York city. On the other hand second and third one show us changes in population of five district of the city. Lets move on to the first paragraph.
Firstly we will talk about year 1800. In this year New York population is 79216. Then there is year 1900 in this year its population is [redacted phone]. Lastly there is year 2000 in this year New York population is [redacted phone].
Now we will discuss the population of five district in the city. First of all there is a table showing population of Manhattan. In the year 1800 its population is 60515 and its 76% of total population. In the year 1900 its population is [redacted phone] and its 54% of total population. Last one is the year 2000 in which Manhattan total population is [redacted phone] and it is 19% of total population.
The last chart show us population of remaining four districts Brooklyn , Bronx , Queens and Staten Island. In the year 1800 population is 18701 and its 24% of total population. In the year 1900 population is [redacted phone] and its 46% of total population. In the year 2000 their population is [redacted phone] and its 81% of total population of the city.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0
The candidate attempts to cover the main features of the tables, reporting data for the total population of New York City and the breakdown between Manhattan and the other four districts across the years 1800, 1900, and 2000. However, the response heavily relies on a mechanical listing of individual data points rather than synthesising and comparing the information effectively. Furthermore, there is a minor transcription error regarding the population of Manhattan in 2000, where the student writes 153096 instead of 1,538,096. While the overall trends—such as the massive population growth and the shifting percentages between Manhattan and the outer districts—are touched upon, the lack of an overarching summary or high-level comparison limits the depth of the response, placing it firmly in Band 5.0.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0
The response is organised into paragraphs, with an introduction followed by separate body paragraphs for different time periods or tables. However, the progression is disrupted by conversational, informal meta-language, such as 'Lets move on to the first paragraph' and 'Now we will discuss'. Cohesive devices are extremely basic and repetitive, frequently relying on phrases like 'In this year', 'First of all', and 'Last one is'. There is a lack of sophisticated referencing or substitution, and the connection between sentences feels disjointed and mechanical rather than flowing naturally. Paragraphing is attempted, but the overall structural control is weak, aligning with the descriptors for Band 5.0.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is very basic, repetitive, and heavily restricted to the exact words provided in the prompt (e.g., 'total population', 'districts', 'year', 'population'). The candidate makes very little attempt to paraphrase or use less common lexical items appropriate for an academic report. Phrases such as 'The last chart show us' demonstrate a very limited range. While the vocabulary is adequate to communicate basic facts from the tables, the lack of flexibility and precision prevents the score from reaching a higher band. Spelling is generally accurate due to direct copying from the visual data, but the overall lexical range is indicative of Band 5.0.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The text displays a very limited range of grammatical structures, consisting almost entirely of simple sentences (e.g., 'In this year New York population is 79216'). Complex sentences are virtually absent, and where structures are attempted, they often lack proper tense consistency or punctuation (e.g., missing commas in lists of districts like 'Brooklyn , Bronx , Queens and Staten Island'). There are also notable verb tense issues, such as using the present tense ('population is') to describe historical data from 1800 and 1900. Because the structures are overly simplistic and repetitive, and lack a mix of complex forms, the grammatical profile corresponds to Band 5.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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