Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-01
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 first table depicts the changes in the total population of New York city between 1800 and 2000. The second and third tables illustrate the changes in the population of five different district of the New york city during the same period.
Looking from an overall perspective, there were significantly changes in the distribution of New york City population. Manhattan district had been highest population in 1800. Other district experienced largest population figure in 2000.
In 1800, New york city(all five districts) contained 79,216 people. In addition, Manhattan district population reached at 60,515 and other districts which contain only 24% of total population. After that, it continued rise significantly number of population in 1900 to 3,437,202. Furthermore, Manhattan district occupied 54% population while Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens and staten island stood at 46% throughout end of the period.
In contrast, In 2000 New york city accounted for approximately 8 millions of population. Moreover, Manhattan stood at 19% meanwhile Other districts gained 81% of the total population in the end of the surveyed period.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0
The response addresses all parts of the task by reporting the main features and making relevant comparisons across the specified years, which places it at this level. You successfully identified the overarching growth of New York City and contrasted the declining percentage of Manhattan against the rising share of the other districts (e.g., "Manhattan stood at 19% meanwhile Other districts gained 81%"). However, some parts of your response are under-developed or lack clarity, such as the vague sentence "Other district experienced largest population figure in 2000." To reach a higher band, ensure all data points are presented with greater precision and clarity, and avoid loose generalisations.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
Your essay has a coherent overall arrangement, and you attempted to structure the response into an introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs. However, cohesion is sometimes faulty or mechanical. For example, transitional phrases like "After that, it continued rise significantly number of population in 1900" are awkward and disrupt the logical flow between sentences. Additionally, referencing is occasionally unclear, as seen in the ambiguous use of pronouns and connectors like "In contrast, In 2000 New york city accounted for..." To improve, focus on using cohesive devices more naturally and ensure your paragraph progression is smoother and more tightly managed.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully using terms like "population", "percentage", and "districts". You also make valid attempts to use less common vocabulary, such as "surveyed period". However, there are noticeable inaccuracies in word choice, form, and collocation, such as writing "significantly changes" instead of "significant changes", or "district of the New york city" instead of "districts of New York City". Spelling and word-formation slips occur, but they do not seriously impede communication. To achieve a higher score, you should refine your control of word forms and learn standard collocations for describing statistical data.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
Your writing displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but control over grammar is inconsistent. There are frequent errors in verb forms, prepositions, and articles, such as "Manhattan district had been highest population" (should be 'had the highest population'), "population reached at 60,515" (should be 'reached 60,515'), and missing articles before proper nouns. While these errors rarely impede overall communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent you from reaching a higher band. To improve, pay closer attention to basic sentence structures, subject-verb agreement, and the correct use of prepositions within statistical descriptions.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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