Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-09

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 shows data on the total population of New York City and other five districts (Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, Staten Island) between 1800 and 2000.

Overall, inhabitants in New York City and other districts had increased abruptly over the period of two centuries, while Manhattan reached at it's highest level and fell moderately. The percentage figure between Manhattan and other districts had converged relation where, other districts increased extensively and Manhattan dropped significantly.

New York City number of residents has substantial growth throughout the period, in 1800 it reached 79,216. Similarly, over next century in 1900 it enormously climbed to 3,437,202. In 2000, it peaked at 8,009,185 and became dominant.

In 1800, Manhattan began with 60,515 then it sharply inclined to 18,50,093 with 22% declined in total population in 1900. It began to fell steadily after reaching 1,538,096 with sharp dropped of 19% in 2000. Although, other districts rose dramatically with 18,701 in 1800 to 1,587,109 in 1900 from percentage increment from 24% to 46%. In 2000, it rised six fold with 81% and 6,471,089.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You cover the main changes and include relevant figures for the city, Manhattan and the combined other districts. The overview identifies the sharp overall population growth and the contrasting shift in population share, which are central features. However, some comparisons are unclear or inaccurate: Manhattan did not reach its highest level and then fall moderately over the whole period; it rose from 60,515 to 1,850,093 by 1900 before declining to 1,538,096. The statement that its share had a “22% declined” is also misleading: its share fell from 76% to 54%, a decrease of 22 percentage points. The main trends are present, but clearer, more precise reporting of these changes would strengthen the response.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, an overview and two paragraphs presenting the figures. This makes the information reasonably easy to follow, and the contrast between Manhattan and the other districts gives the report a logical direction. However, some links between ideas are awkward or unclear. For example, “The percentage figure between Manhattan and other districts had converged relation” does not clearly explain the changing shares, and “Although” at the start of the final sentence does not connect the contrast smoothly. The final paragraph also packs several dates, populations and percentages into long sentences. Use clearer transitions and separate the comparisons so that each sentence presents one main change.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You attempt a range of vocabulary suited to describing trends, including “climbed,” “peaked,” “declined” and “rose dramatically.” This shows an effort to avoid repeating basic verbs. However, several choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural, such as “inhabitants … had increased abruptly,” “reached at it's highest level,” “converged relation” and “sharp dropped.” These sometimes make the intended meaning less precise. There are also word-form and spelling errors, including “rised” and “fell” used after “began to.” Aim for accurate, natural trend language rather than using several emphatic alternatives. For example, “increased substantially” and “the proportion fell” would express the data more clearly.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You use both simple statements and longer sentences with time clauses and contrasts, for example, “Similarly, over next century in 1900 it enormously climbed…” and “Although, other districts rose dramatically…”. This gives the report some structural variety, but errors in verb forms, articles, agreement and sentence construction remain. Examples include “it began to fell,” “it rised,” “New York City number of residents has substantial growth,” and “reached at it's highest level.” The comma after “Although” also disrupts the sentence structure. These errors do not generally prevent the reader from understanding the trends, but they reduce accuracy. Practise past-tense reporting and check that each sentence has a clear subject and correctly formed verb.

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