Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-30

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)

The tables illustrate the population of many cties with different years.

Overall the tables compared the population of many cties like New York, manhattan and other four districts (Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens and Staten Island) from eighteen century to twenty century with percentage increase.

In the year 1800s, the population of overall New York was 79,216 while the Manhattan was 60,515 with percentage of seventy six and other four districts (Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens and Staten Island) were 18,701 with the percentage of twenty four.

Furthermore, the number rise to 3,437,202 in New York include Manhattan population increased to 1,850,093 with the fifty four percent and other districts (Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens and Staten Island) went to 1,597,109 with forty six percent in the 1900s century.

In contrast, population reached to 8,009,185 in New York. While 1,538,096 reached by manhattan with nineteen percent and other four districts (Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens and Staten Island) maintained 6,471,089 with eighty one percent in the twenty century.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

The student attempts to address the task by reporting the population figures for New York City, Manhattan, and the combined other districts for the years 1800, 1900, and 2000. However, the overview is extremely basic and fails to clearly highlight the main overarching trends, such as the dramatic decentralisation of the population away from Manhattan toward the other four districts over the two-century period. While some specific data points are accurately cited, such as the overall population in 1800 (79,216) and 2000 (8,009,185), there are minor data transcription inaccuracies in the body paragraphs, such as writing 1,597,109 instead of 1,587,109 for the other districts in 1900. Overall, the response addresses the prompt but lacks deep analytical comparison and well-developed selection of main features, placing it firmly at Band 5.0.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response is organised into rudimentary paragraphs, starting with an introduction, followed by three body paragraphs representing the three time periods, and lacking a distinct conclusion. Cohesive devices are used awkwardly or repetitively, such as 'In the year 1800s', 'Furthermore', and 'In contrast'. The reference pronouns and links between sentences are occasionally unclear, leading to a choppy reading experience where logical progression between ideas is limited. Paragraphing is attempted, but the overall structure feels disjointed and mechanical rather than fluidly organized. These features align with a Band 5.0 score for Coherence and Cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The lexical range is quite limited and repetitive. The student frequently repeats basic verbs and nouns such as 'population', 'districts', 'percentage', 'reached', and 'went to'. There are notable awkward word choices and unidiomatic phrases, such as 'many cties with different years', 'the number rise', and 'twenty century' instead of 'twentieth century'. Spelling errors are present, such as 'cties' for 'cities'. While the vocabulary is minimally adequate to convey the basic data points, it lacks the range, precision, and flexibility required for higher band scores, meriting a 5.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response displays a very limited range of grammatical structures, relying heavily on simple sentences and repetitive clause structures connected by 'while' and 'and'. Attempts at complex structures often result in faulty grammar and awkward phrasing, such as 'while the Manhattan was 60,515 with percentage of seventy six' and 'While 1,538,096 reached by manhattan with nineteen percent'. Frequent errors in prepositions, articles, tense consistency, and passive voice construction are noticeable throughout the text. These persistent grammatical inaccuracies can cause occasional difficulty for the reader, fitting the Band 5.0 descriptors.

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

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