Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-04

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 tables depict changes in total New York City's population for three decades starting from 1800. The total percentage of total population calculated for five villages, including Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island for given time frame.

Overall, the last century illustrated increase in eight-fold population compared to the beginning of the period. In addition, Manhattan accounted for highest percentage of population at the beginning, while other districts took over the higher figures.

In 18000, in New York City, total 79,216 people were there of all five districts; in which the Manhattan only district showing 76% of population with 60,515 people, while other city districts had only 24% total population (18,701). In the following decade, these figures rose almost four times and reached to 3,437,202. Manhattan population witnessed a three-fold growth followed by other districts, such as Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island to approximately 9 times higher. Although Manhattan was the first choice of living over other districts, over the time population over there dropped dramatically.

In the last century (2000), the general public of New York City jumped to 80 lacs and showed the significantly rise. Manhattan population were plummed to 19% with 1,538,096 people, the other four districts went up and reached to above figure as the start of the century figures at Manhattan(81%).

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses the main parts of the task by presenting data from the tables, including overall growth and comparisons between Manhattan and the other districts. However, the interpretation is partially flawed and contains inaccuracies when reporting specific data points. For instance, the text states that the data covers 'three decades starting from 1800', which is incorrect as the years given are 1800, 1900, and 2000 (spanning two centuries). Furthermore, there are factual misreadings of the numbers, such as 'In 18000' and stating that the population jumped to '80 lacs' in 2000. While an overview is attempted, some details are imprecise or underdeveloped, placing this criterion at the current level.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay has a basic structure with clear paragraph breaks separating the introduction, overview, and body paragraphs. However, overall progression is hindered by awkward phrasing and mechanical or faulty cohesive devices. Words like 'In addition' and 'Although' are used, but referencing is sometimes unclear, such as the pronoun use in 'population over there dropped dramatically' and 'reached to above figure'. Paragraphing is present, but the logical flow between sentences is occasionally disrupted by confusing phrasing, preventing the response from reaching a higher band.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is limited and repetitive, though it is minimally adequate for the task. The writer attempts some less common items such as 'witnessed a three-fold growth' and 'plummed' (intended for plummeted), but these attempts are accompanied by noticeable errors in word choice and form. There are also informal or inappropriate expressions used for an academic task, such as '80 lacs'. Spelling and word-choice errors, while not completely impeding communication, cause some difficulty for the reader and reflect a restricted lexical range.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The text displays a very limited range of sentence structures, relying heavily on simple clauses and faulty attempts at complex sentences. There are frequent grammatical errors throughout the response, including issues with prepositions, articles, and verb forms, such as 'illustrated increase in eight-fold population', 'Manhattan population were plummed', and 'total 79,216 people were there'. Punctuation is also problematic in places. These frequent errors cause strain and difficulty for the reader, which is characteristic of this grammatical level.

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