Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)
The given tables provides the information of variation in population of New York city , including various cities such as Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens and Staten Island from 1800 to 2000.
Overall, rapid rise in population was evident during the initial stage, where Manhattan shows a drastic increase than other districts.Similarly, other four witnessed rapid growth during the last century of the data.
In the year 1800 the population was noted to be 79,216 in the city which was drastically increased to 3,437,202 as 76% of population contibuted by Manhattan, while 24% by the rest.Similarly in the next 100 years contribution of Manhattan and other districs was nearly equal with 54% and 46% growth in population respectively.
On the other hand, significant changes was recorded with 8,009,185 in 2000.Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens and Staten Island played an major role in the growth of population with 81% of contibution next in line was Manhattan with 19% of its share to the total increase in the city .
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 all parts of the task by reporting the main features of the overall population growth and the shifts between Manhattan and the other districts from 1800 to 2000. An overview is attempted in the second paragraph, capturing the rapid rise in population and the changing dominance of Manhattan. However, there are some minor misinterpretations of the data; for example, the student writes that in 1800 the population was 3,437,202 (which is actually the 1900 figure) and misinterprets percentage figures as 'growth in population'. Despite these inaccuracies in reading the specific rows, the main comparative trends are identified and supported with data from the tables.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The response is arranged into four paragraphs, following a logical structure of introduction, overview, and body paragraphs focusing on different time periods. Cohesive devices such as 'Overall', 'In the year 1800', and 'On the other hand' are used to structure the text, though some transitions feel a bit mechanical or imprecise. Paragraphing is handled sufficiently, separating the overarching trends from specific statistical details, ensuring the progression of ideas is generally clear to the reader.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The student attempts an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, utilizing terms such as 'variation', 'drastic increase', 'contribution', and 'significant changes'. However, there are several word choice and spelling inaccuracies, such as 'contibuted' instead of 'contributed', 'districs' instead of 'districts', and 'contibution' instead of 'contribution'. Collocations are sometimes awkward, such as 'growth in population respectively' when referring to percentage shares. The lexical range is minimally sufficient to convey the main points, but errors occasionally draw attention.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The essay displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as relative clauses and prepositional phrases (e.g., 'where Manhattan shows a drastic increase than other districts'). There are notable grammatical errors and awkward phrasings throughout, such as 'The given tables provides' (subject-verb agreement error), 'significant changes was recorded' (singular/plural mismatch), and missing articles or incorrect prepositions. Punctuation is generally acceptable, and while errors are frequent, they rarely completely impede overall communication.
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