Band 4.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-03

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)

The provided tables shows the overall population of New York City compare to demographic distribution among Manhattan and other four districts ( Broollyn, Bronx, Queens, Staten Island) between 1800 to 2000.

Overall, New York City experienced a massive demographic expansion. While Manhattan initially accounted for the vast majority of the city's residents, its dominance dimished as other four disticts

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 3.0

The response is severely incomplete, as it breaks off abruptly after only 59 words, which falls well short of the minimum 150-word requirement. Because of this extreme under-length, the task is only minimally addressed. While the opening sentences attempt to introduce the charts by mentioning the overall population of New York City and the demographic distribution between Manhattan and the other four districts, the response fails to provide an overview, report the main features, or make the required comparisons across the given years. To improve, the writer must ensure the response meets the word count requirement and develops a full, structured overview and body paragraphs detailing the specific data trends.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

The text shows some initial organizational awareness by attempting an introductory paragraph and an overarching summary sentence with 'Overall, New York City experienced a massive demographic expansion.' However, because the response cuts off mid-sentence ('as other four disticts'), there is no logical progression, development, or proper paragraph structure established. Cohesive devices are largely missing beyond the introductory transition word. To progress to a higher band, the writer must complete sentences, organize information into logical body paragraphs, and use a wider and more accurate range of cohesive devices to connect ideas smoothly.

Lexical Resource: Band 4.5

The vocabulary used in the fragment is mostly adequate for the task, featuring attempts at appropriate terms such as 'demographic expansion', 'majority', and 'residents'. However, there are notable spelling errors and typos, such as 'compare' instead of 'compared', 'dimished' instead of 'diminished', and 'disticts' instead of 'districts', alongside missing words in the second sentence. The lexical range is severely limited due to the incomplete nature of the writing. To improve, the writer needs to expand the vocabulary range to describe data trends more precisely and carefully check spelling and word forms before finishing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

The response contains a mix of simple sentence structures and an attempted complex structure ('While Manhattan initially accounted for...'). However, there are noticeable grammatical errors, such as the subject-verb agreement issue in the very first sentence ('The provided tables shows') where a plural noun is paired with a singular verb, and a missing preposition in 'compare to'. Furthermore, the response is incomplete, preventing a proper assessment of a wider range of structures. To achieve a higher score, the writer must eliminate basic agreement errors, ensure correct prepositional use, and complete all sentences with accurate grammatical forms.

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

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