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 given three tables provide information about changes in the total population of New York City including five specific districts between 1800 and 2000.
Overall, while the total population of New York City and four districts significantly increased, whereas population of Manhattan districts fluctuated over the period.
In 1800, New York City accounted for the total of about 79,216 population. While population increased sharply in 1900 to over 3,437,202, and 8,009,185 in 2000. Similarly, the population of four districts, Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens and Staten Island, constituted of 24% of total population, which rose considerably to 46% of total population in 1900. In 2000, the proportion of population went up substantially to 81%.
In contrast, Manhattan district constituted 76% of total population, then the proportion of population grew significantly to 54% by 1900. In 2000, the figure for Manhattan district population showed a marginally decline with the total population of 19% only 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 student successfully covers all parts of the task by reporting the main features of the total population growth and making relevant comparisons between Manhattan and the other four districts across the three given years. An overview is present, highlighting the contrasting trends. However, there are some minor inaccuracies in data interpretation, such as stating that Manhattan's population fluctuated when it actually experienced a rise followed by a decline, and a slight confusion regarding percentages and total figures in the body paragraphs (e.g., 'accounted for the total of about 79,216 population'). Despite these minor issues, the key information is clearly presented and supported by data from the tables.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The response is organized into four paragraphs, following a logical structure with an introduction, an overview, and separate body paragraphs for the different districts. Cohesive devices are used to signal transitions and contrasts, such as 'Overall', 'In contrast', and 'Similarly'. However, paragraphing and sentence-level cohesion suffer from awkward phrasing and repetitive structures (e.g., beginning multiple sentences with time markers followed by population data). Referencing is occasionally unclear, such as the ambiguous use of 'four districts' versus 'other districts'. Overall organization is coherent, but the flow could be smoother and more varied.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The student attempts a range of vocabulary suitable for an academic task, including terms such as 'significantly increased', 'proportion', 'substantially', and 'constituted'. However, there are several word choice and collocation inaccuracies throughout the text, such as 'population of Manhattan districts fluctuated', 'accounted for the total of about 79,216 population', and 'showed a marginally decline'. These lexical errors do not impede communication, but they restrict the response to a Band 6 level as they demonstrate a limited ability to handle less common lexical items with complete precision.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating an attempt at structures like subordinate clauses ('while the total population... whereas population...'). However, grammatical errors are noticeable and recurrent, particularly in subject-verb agreement and preposition use, such as 'whereas population of Manhattan districts fluctuated' (missing article), 'constituted of 24%' (incorrect prepositional verb), and 'showed a marginally decline' (adjective instead of adverb). While these errors do not prevent the message from being understood, they limit the frequency of error-free sentences.
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.