Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · 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 4.5)

The first table illustrates the developments in the overall inhabitants of New York city from 1800 to 2000.While the second and third table compare the changes in the residents of five distrcts of the city including Manhattan, Brooklyn , Bronx, queens, Staten Island in the same period of time.

Overall, the population of New York has increased very rapidly. On the other hand Manhattan was the most populated city among the five districts in bwtween 1800 to 1900, whereas the residents of the remaining four districts significantly boosted after the the middle of this period.

In 1800 the city of New Yorks was comprise with the population of 79216 people, then sudden surge can be seen figure of the habitants of this city has surged to [redacted phone], however in 2000 the popukation of this city increased significantly to [redacted phone].

In term of camparison in the residents among five districts, these were very

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0

The response responds to the task only minimally and is incomplete, as it breaks off mid-sentence in the final paragraph. Furthermore, the length requirement is not met, as the response contains 145 words, falling short of the 150-word minimum. While the student attempts to provide an overview and mentions some data points from the tables, such as the initial and final population figures, the information presented is sketchy and lacks sufficient detail. Key comparisons are omitted or left unfinished, particularly in relation to the district-level data, which prevents the response from fully addressing all parts of the prompt.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

The text demonstrates some overall organisation with basic paragraphing, but the information and ideas are not arranged cohesively throughout. Cohesive devices are used minimally and sometimes inaccurately, such as the abrupt transition 'On the other hand' in the second paragraph, which does not accurately signal a contrast in this context. Furthermore, referencing and logical progression are weak, and the abrupt ending of the text mid-sentence severely disrupts the overall flow and coherence of the response.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is basic and repetitive, featuring noticeable errors in word choice and spelling that occasionally strain the reader. Examples include 'inhabitants' used incorrectly as a synonym for overall population size, 'distrcts', 'bwtween', 'habitant', 'popukation', and 'camparison'. The student attempts some less common vocabulary such as 'surge' and 'significantly boosted', but inaccuracies in collocation and form limit the precision and flexibility of the lexical range.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

The response displays a very limited range of sentence structures, with frequent errors that impede communication. There are noticeable issues with basic sentence construction, such as fragment sentences ('While the second and third table compare...') and incorrect prepositional and verb patterns, as seen in 'was comprise with'. Punctuation and capitalization errors are also present, such as lowercase letters for proper nouns like 'queens'. Complex structures are rarely attempted accurately, and basic grammatical agreements are frequently missed.

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

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