Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-06

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 three tables compare the changes in number of citizens of New York city and the variation of occupants in few district of city from the year 1800 to 2000.

Overall New city the highest number of residents shows in year 2000, while in Manhattan has highest number of natives in the year 1900,In addition to other districts the highest number of folks observed in the year 2000.

Looking first at the overall population of New York city the highest number observed in the year 2000 which is 8,009,185 while in the year 1900 they have 3,437,202 occupants and in addition the year 1800 depicts very less population in compare to 1900 and 2000.Meanwhile in the Manhattan shows Major alteration in year 1800 with 76 percent of total population of city At the same time in 1900 shows 54 percent , eventually the year 2000 shows very low transformation of citizens in compare to the year 1800 and 1900.

Turning to the other districts values shows very unique in compare to manhattan and overall population of Newyork where in the first table the year 2000 shows highest number of population with including only 19 percent of manhattan but the other districts have 81 percent of residents,while we look at glance of other two year 1800 and 1900 shows very clear values where in 1800 Manhattan has 76 percent of population which is very highest in compare with other 5 finally in the year 1900 still mahattan provides higher value in compare to other districts.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the task by reporting the main trends and making relevant comparisons across the tables, earning a solid mid-level score. You successfully identify the overall population growth of New York City from 1800 to 2000 and capture the shift in distribution away from Manhattan toward the other districts. However, some parts of your response are underdeveloped or lack clarity. For instance, your description of Manhattan's percentage changes is somewhat confusingly phrased as 'very low transformation of citizens,' which obscures the precise data showing its decline from 76% to 19%. To reach a higher level, ensure that all key features—such as specific numerical peaks and proportional shifts—are explained with greater precision and clarity rather than relying on vague generalisations.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

Your writing displays a coherent overall arrangement, and you make commendable attempts to structure your essay using transitional phrases such as 'Looking first at' and 'Turning to the other districts.' Nevertheless, cohesion is sometimes faulty and mechanical. Sentences frequently run on without adequate punctuation, and referencing is occasionally unclear, which disrupts the logical progression of ideas. Furthermore, paragraphing could be managed more effectively to separate distinct trends, such as the overall city growth versus the district breakdowns. To improve coherence, you should focus on breaking long, complex sentences into shorter, more digestible units and employ cohesive devices more naturally to guide the reader smoothly through your comparisons.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used in the response is adequate for the task, allowing you to communicate basic trends, but it remains limited in range and precision. You attempt some less common items such as 'alteration' and 'occupants,' but these are occasionally misused in terms of collocation or register—for instance, describing population changes as 'transformation of citizens.' Additionally, there are word choice inaccuracies and repetitive phrasing throughout the text. To elevate your lexical score, you need to incorporate a wider variety of precise, topic-specific vocabulary related to statistical trends, such as 'proportion,' 'surge,' 'decline,' and 'demographic distribution,' while ensuring accurate spelling and word formation.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but your writing contains frequent errors in grammar and punctuation that can occasionally cause difficulty for the reader. There are noticeable issues with subject-verb agreement, such as 'the highest number of residents shows,' missing articles (e.g., 'in Manhattan has highest number'), and awkward prepositional usage ('in compare to'). Punctuation is also weak, with several run-on sentences lacking proper full stops or commas. To achieve a higher band, you must improve your control over basic grammatical structures, ensure correct tense usage when describing historical data, and pay closer attention to punctuation to make your sentences grammatically sound and error-free.

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

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