Band 4.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-29

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 4.0)

In the given chart below is shows the population changes in New York City, Manhattan and other districts over the period of [redacted phone].

It is evident that in the beginning the population was less and it is increasing with time.

Come to the details population of the New York City was 79216 in 1800, while the population of Other Districts was lesser in 1800 which is just 18701.

in 1900 the population of New work city made a great jump and leave all the other city behind.

Again New York City made a huge jump in 2000 with the number [redacted phone] and with the growth of 81% the other districts were following the New York City.

completing the remaining details only Manhattan was city which was growing with less population in 2000 which was only [redacted phone] with the growth percentage of 19% while the numbers were great in 1900, which was [redacted phone] and it was growing with percentage of 54.

if we talk about its highly growth period it was in 1800 where it was growing with 76%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

The response attempts to address the task by reporting figures for New York City, Manhattan, and the other districts across the years 1800, 1900, and 2000. However, the content is hindered by numerous factual inaccuracies and misinterpretations of the visual data. For instance, the student states that Manhattan had a growth percentage of 76% in 1800, whereas the table clearly indicates this was its percentage share of the total population, not a growth rate. Furthermore, some data points are misreported or garbled, such as the population figure for 2000 ('800915' instead of '8,009,185'). While the main entities are mentioned, the lack of accurate data reporting and misunderstanding of percentages keeps this at a Band 4.5 level.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.0

The essay lacks proper paragraphing, consisting instead of a series of isolated, disjointed sentences and fragments that impede the flow of information. There is no clear overall progression or logical structure; phrases like 'Come to the details' and 'completing the remaining details' are awkwardly used as transition markers rather than standard cohesive devices. Pronoun referencing is also frequently confusing (e.g., 'if we talk about its highly growth period it was in 1800'). While the sequence roughly follows the chronological order of the tables, the absence of an effective introduction, clear body paragraphs, and a proper overview results in a fragmented and poorly organized response.

Lexical Resource: Band 4.0

The vocabulary used is very basic and repetitive, with frequent word-choice errors that reflect a lack of control over academic registers. Examples include phrases like 'the population was less and it is increasing', 'made a great jump and leave all the other city behind', and 'highly growth period'. There are also transcription errors of numbers and terms from the prompt. While the student attempts some less common vocabulary items (such as 'percentage' and 'growth'), misuse of these terms and grammatical collocation errors restrict the lexical range to a basic level, matching the descriptors for Band 4.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.0

Grammatical control is weak throughout the response. The text contains numerous errors in tense usage, sentence structure, and punctuation. For instance, the opening sentence has a structural flaw ('In the given chart below is shows...'), and many sentences run together without proper punctuation or connectors (e.g., 'Again New York City made a huge jump in 2000 with the number 800915 and with the growth of 81% the other districts were following the New York City'). Simple sentence forms predominate, and attempts at more complex structures frequently result in faulty syntax and meaning distortion, placing this firmly at Band 4.0.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

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