Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · 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 4.5)

The table show the population of new York city and the changes in population between Manhattan and the other four district in 1800, 1900 and 2000.

overall, the population of new York city increased significantly during the period. Manhattan has the largest city of the population in 1800, but the share decreased considerable by 2000. In contract, the other districts became much more populated. in 1800, New York city the population 60,515 as percentage of the total 76% and the 1900 years an the population 18,50,093

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0

You identify the broad trend that New York City’s population increased and note that Manhattan’s share fell while the other districts gained importance. However, the response reports very little of the table accurately or completely: it gives Manhattan’s 1800 population and share, then begins the 1900 figure but stops without a clear comparison or coverage of 2000. The statement that Manhattan had the largest population in 1800 is supported, but the overview needs the key contrast that Manhattan’s population itself fell from 1900 to 2000 while the other districts rose sharply. The response is also 64 words below the required minimum, leaving the task only minimally addressed. Include a complete overview and select figures from all three years.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

There is a basic attempt to organise the response: an opening sentence is followed by an overview beginning with “overall,” and then a detail sentence. The contrast signalled by “In contract” also shows an effort to connect the two population groups. However, the response ends abruptly during the 1900 data, so there is no clear progression through the years or a complete closing comparison. Several ideas are crowded into the same paragraph, and the relationship between the figures is difficult to follow. Use separate paragraphs for the introduction, overview and selected details, and organise the details consistently by year or by Manhattan versus the other districts. Clear sentence boundaries and accurate linking phrases would make the progression easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The response uses some relevant task vocabulary, including “population,” “percentage,” “share,” “increased significantly” and “populated,” so the topic is generally recognisable. However, the range is limited and several choices are inaccurate or awkward, which sometimes makes the intended meaning less clear. For example, “Manhattan has the largest city of the population” does not express the comparison naturally, and “In contract” is not the appropriate phrase for introducing an opposing trend. “Other four district” also shows imprecise word form and number. Aim for accurate collocations used in data descriptions, such as “accounted for,” “population share,” and “the remaining districts.” Check spelling and capitalisation of place names as well.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

You attempt both simple statements and a contrast, but the range of sentence structures is very limited, and frequent errors make several sentences difficult to interpret. In “The table show,” the subject and verb do not agree; “the other four district” also has an incorrect plural form. The sentence “in 1800, New York city the population 60,515” is missing a verb and has an unclear structure, while “and the 1900 years an the population…” is incomplete. Capitalisation and punctuation are also inconsistent, including the lowercase starts after full stops. Practise complete subject–verb sentences such as “Manhattan’s population was…” and use a consistent past-tense structure to report each year. More accurate sentence construction is needed before attempting longer complex sentences.

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