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 first table represents about the changes in total population of New York City between 1800 to 2000. Whereas, other two table illustrates about the changes in the population of the five districts of the cities such as (Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, Staten Island) over the time.
Overall, New York City has the highest number of population as compare to other cities. Whereas, other districts like (Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, Staten Island) have the least number of population.
To start with,
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 3.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 3.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 4.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 4.5 |
| Overall | 4.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 3.0
The response is severely under-length, containing only 63 counted words (18 words copied from the prompt were excluded), which falls far short of the 150-word minimum requirement. Furthermore, the response is incomplete, stopping abruptly after just two short introductory paragraphs and failing to present the required summary, main features, or data comparisons from the tables. Because the task is addressed only minimally and breaks off before any meaningful reporting of the visual data can occur, the response sits at the lowest band level.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 3.5
The text demonstrates a basic attempt to structure an introduction and an overview using cohesive markers such as "Whereas" and "To start with". However, because the response cuts off abruptly after only two paragraphs and fails to develop a body of information, there is no overall logical progression or coherent sequencing of data. Paragraphing is attempted, but the text is far too brief to demonstrate effective organizational control beyond isolated opening sentences.
Lexical Resource: Band 4.5
The vocabulary used is very basic and repetitive, featuring inaccurate word choices and awkward phrasing such as "represents about the changes", "illustrates about the changes", and "highest number of population as compare to other cities". The student attempts some topic-related vocabulary such as "population", "districts", and percentage references, but frequent word choice and collocation errors reflect a limited range that struggles to convey precise meaning.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5
The response contains a very limited range of sentence structures, relying on simple patterns marred by recurring grammatical errors. Examples include intrusive prepositions and redundant verb forms, such as in "represents about" and "illustrates about". There are also errors in pluralization and comparison structures, such as "other two table illustrates" instead of "the other two tables illustrate", and "as compare to" instead of "compared to". These frequent errors reflect weak control over basic grammatical structures.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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