Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-07

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 table illustrates about the total populaion of new york city and along with all five districts such as Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, Staten Island in three different timelines : 1800 , 1900 , and 2000.

Overall , In the year 2000 was the largest number of population. However , a majority amount of people stayed at Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island.

Now in the year 1800 , the total number of population in new your city was 79,216. Over the next decade the number was made the huge jumped of total population , it was 3,437,202 in 1900. Lastly , in the year 2000 the total number of population was 8,009,185 that was the largest amount of population at that year.

Move to the second table they shows about population in all five districts. Firstly, Manhattan total population was 60,515 and as per the percentage of total population that was 76%. That was the largest population in the year 1800. after that in 1900 , the population was increasing significantly , that was 1,850,093 however , the percentage of total population was dropping . that was 76% to 54%. Lastly in 2000 , the population was facing slightly dropped by 1,538,096. and as per the percentage they reached around 19% only.

Next , the all other districts such as Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island follows the similar trend in population respectively. In the year 1800 , the other districts total population was 18,701 and as per the percentage that was 24% similarly. Move on to nest , in 1900 the population has shows major increasing by total 1,587,109 and as per the percentage that was 46% of the population. Lastly , in 2000 the total population was increasing by approximately four times , that was 6,471,089 and that was the huge number of population or as per the percentage so that was the 81% and that was also th e larger percentage of total population.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You cover the main stages and report the key figures for the city total, Manhattan, and the combined other districts. Your overview identifies the 2000 peak and the shift in population share away from Manhattan, and the figures you give are generally accurate. This meets the task well, with some features more fully reported than others: the tables provide no separate figures for Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens, or Staten Island, so describing them collectively is appropriate, but the overview could state more clearly that Manhattan’s population rose to 1900 and then fell, while the other districts continued to grow. Also, “over the next decade” misstates the interval between 1800 and 1900, and “approximately four times” is imprecise for the increase from 1900 to 2000.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction and overview are followed by paragraphs on the city total, Manhattan, and the other districts. This makes the main comparisons reasonably easy to locate. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes weakened by mechanical sequencing such as “Firstly,” “after that,” “Lastly,” and “Next,” while repeated references to “the population” make links feel repetitive. Some connections are unclear, as in “follows the similar trend in population respectively,” which does not explain the comparison precisely. Improve cohesion by grouping the figures around the main contrast—Manhattan versus the other districts—and using clear references such as “its share” or “the combined population” rather than repeating broad labels.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant vocabulary for describing data, including “total population,” “percentage,” “increasing significantly,” and “dropped,” so the topic remains understandable. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are unnatural or imprecise, including “majority amount,” “huge jumped,” “facing slightly dropped,” and “larger percentage.” Spelling errors such as “populaion,” “your,” and “nest” also reduce accuracy. Aim for standard data-reporting language and avoid intensifiers such as “huge” when a precise description is available. More accurate choices would make your comparisons clearer and help you express changes without relying on repeated forms of “population” and “number.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, and the reader can generally follow the figures. However, control is inconsistent: several sentence patterns are faulty, including “Over the next decade the number was made the huge jumped” and “the population has shows major increasing.” Subject–verb agreement and clause structure also cause problems in “the second table they shows” and “the other districts … follows.” Tense and punctuation are uneven, with sentence starts such as “after that” left uncapitalised and commas frequently placed with spaces before them. Practise forming direct comparison sentences with a clear subject and verb, for example, “Manhattan’s population rose to …, while its share fell to ….” This would improve accuracy while retaining sentence variety.

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