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 tables give data on changes in number of total population of New York city along with other two tables which gives further data of other it's districts, such as Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens and Staten Island; between the time period from 1800 to 2000.
Overall, the population of New City, has increased drastically over the time period. In 1800, most individuals lived in Manhattan city, accounting about 76%. But by the end of 2000, peoples preferred to live in other cities, and populations increased their was almost four times than that used to stay in 1800, which was 81%.
In New York City, about 76% of individuals used to live in Manhattan district in 1800. However, by the time of 1900, only little bit more than half the population stayed in it, which sums up to 54%. Further, it got a major decline in percentage of individuals living by 2000 to 19%
On the contrary, only about one-fourth percentage of total population lived in 1800. Which have a great increase over the time period. And by 1900, it had became 46%. In addition to this, the highest percentage of individuals, who got settled in other district was 81% in 2000.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0
The response covers all parts of the task well, providing an overview of the population trends in New York City and comparing Manhattan with the other districts across the specified years. Key figures, such as the initial 76% in Manhattan in 1800 and the shift to 81% in other districts by 2000, are accurately reported. However, some of the descriptions of percentages and population changes are slightly confused or imprecise, such as stating 'populations increased their was almost four times than that used to stay', which impacts the clarity of the comparisons. Despite these minor limitations, the main features and trends are clearly identified and supported by the visual data.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The response has a clear overall structure, opening with an introductory paragraph, followed by an overview, and breaking down the details into separate body paragraphs for Manhattan and the other districts. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate ideas. However, cohesion is sometimes faulty or mechanical. For instance, the transition 'On the contrary' is misused since the trends are complementary rather than contradictory, and referencing within sentences (e.g., 'Which have a great increase') is occasionally unclear. Cohesive devices are present but lack flexibility and natural flow, placing this text firmly in Band 6.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating terms such as 'population', 'districts', 'percentage', and 'decline'. However, there are numerous word choice and collocation errors, such as 'number of total population', 'Manhattan city', 'peoples preferred', and 'got a major decline'. Less common lexical items are attempted but often inaccurate or awkward in style. Spelling is generally accurate, but the frequent inaccuracies in phrasing mean that the lexical resource struggles to reach a higher band.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and introductory prepositional phrases (e.g., 'In 1800, most individuals lived...'). However, there is a high frequency of grammatical errors throughout the text, including subject-verb agreement issues ('populations increased their was'), awkward fragments starting with 'Which', and missing prepositions. While these errors do not completely obscure the intended meaning, they are frequent enough to prevent the response from achieving a Band 6.5, making Band 6 a more accurate reflection of grammatical control.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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