Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-05

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 5.0)

The first table show total population of new york city from 1800 to 2000, while second and third tables show change in population of the five districts city over the same period

Overall, In all five districts population increase from year 1800 to 2000. Manhattan has the highest percentage of total population in 1800 while compare to year 2000 Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens and Staten island remain the highest from previous years

In year 1800, total population of manhattan was 76% which continue to grow to 54% with around 1,850,093 population in 1900 and then decrease to 19% in year 2000

All five district have only around 25% of total population in year 1800 which continues to grow to 46% in year 1900 with nearly 1,587,109 population. In year 2000, population jump from 46% to 81% in total population in year 2000

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

The response partially addresses the task by reporting some main features and comparisons from the tables, but it fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 150 words, sitting at 131 words total, with 10 words copied directly from the prompt. While there is an attempt at an overview, it is simplistic and contains factual inaccuracies regarding the percentages. Key data points, such as the peak population numbers, are missing or incorrectly stated, and the ideas remain limited and under-developed, which prevents the report from fully covering all parts of the task visual data accurately.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The text presents some organisation with basic paragraphing, but there is no clear overall progression of ideas. Cohesive devices are minimal, repetitive, or inaccurate, such as the repetitive use of time markers like 'in year 1800' and 'in year 2000'. Referencing is sometimes unclear, particularly in the final paragraph where the grouping of the other districts becomes confusing. While the layout follows a general introduction, overview, and body paragraph structure, the mechanical flow and lack of sophisticated cohesive links keep the structural delivery basic.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is limited and barely adequate for the task. The student relies heavily on basic terms and repeats words like 'population', 'district', and 'year' frequently throughout the text. There are noticeable lexical errors, such as describing a percentage decreasing from 76% to '54% with around 1,850,093 population in 1900 and then decrease to 19%', which demonstrates poor control over vocabulary relating to statistical changes and proportions. Word choices occasionally cause some difficulty or confusion for the reader in understanding the precise data relationships.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

The grammatical range is very limited, consisting mostly of simple and attempted complex sentences that are frequently faulty. There are persistent errors in basic grammar, including missing articles ('show total population of new york city'), incorrect verb tenses ('table show', 'population increase', 'continue to grow' instead of past tense), and lack of subject-verb agreement. Punctuation is largely neglected, with sentences lacking proper terminal periods. These frequent errors across simple and complex structures cause noticeable difficulty and strain for the reader.

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