Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

The tables illustrate the changes in the total population of New York City and the population of its five districts from 1800 to 2000.

Overall, New York city increased population over the periods, while Manhattan experienced considerable growth, others grew more slowly. By the end of the period, the most popolus districts contains highest majority in the fial year repectively.

Firstly, in 1800 the population of New York was 79,216 and than increased dramatically to 3,437,202 in 1900, while in Manhattan the number of populations was around 60,515 with 76% grows in total population and in 1900 there is only 54% rise in all over the population. Therefore, in 2000 the New York City experienced highest growth with 8,009,185 populations and in Manhattan the percentage of all population decreased drop from 76% to 19% in 2000 with total numbers of 1,538,096.

In contrast, the other districts Brooklyn and others contains 24% growth in population in their first year with the total numbers of 18,701. However, in 1900 Queen rise up steadily to 46% with 1,587,109, lastly Bronx contain highest growthn in all over the terms with 6,471,089 with 81%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the overall rise in New York City’s population and report several relevant figures, including the city totals and Manhattan’s changing share. However, the overview is unclear and includes a misleading claim: Manhattan did not experience considerable growth across the whole period, since its population fell from 1,850,093 in 1900 to 1,538,096 in 2000. The key contrast is that the other districts’ combined share rose from 24% to 81%, while Manhattan’s fell from 76% to 19%. Some details are also misattributed: 46% and 1,587,109 refer to all the other districts combined, not Queens alone, and 81% is a share, not a growth rate. State these comparisons accurately and make the overview more precise.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has a basic structure, with an introduction, an overview and two detail paragraphs, and connectors such as “Firstly” and “In contrast” show an attempt to organise information. However, the progression is difficult to follow because figures and comparisons are mixed within long sentences, and the final paragraph shifts between the combined other districts and individual boroughs without a clear basis. “Therefore” does not clearly connect the preceding information to the 2000 figures, while “However” introduces a comparison that is not fully explained. Group the data consistently—for example, describe the city total first, then compare Manhattan with the combined other districts across the three years—and use linking phrases to clarify those relationships.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some task-relevant vocabulary, including “population,” “percentage,” “increased dramatically” and “decreased,” so the reader can recognise the topic and broad trends. However, the range and control are limited, and several word choices or collocations make the data hard to interpret. Phrases such as “76% grows in total population,” “highest growthn in all over the terms” and “contains highest majority” do not express the intended statistical relationships naturally. Spelling errors such as “popolus,” “fial” and “repectively” are also noticeable. Use precise terms such as “accounted for,” “share,” “combined population” and “declined,” and check spelling and word forms carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more extended sentences, including clauses joined with “while” and “with,” but complex constructions are often faulty and errors occur frequently. For example, “New York city increased population” lacks a natural grammatical structure, and “the most popolus districts contains” has problems with both sentence construction and subject–verb agreement. In “in 1900 there is only 54% rise,” the tense and the meaning of the percentage are unclear. Articles, plurals and verb forms also need attention, as in “the total numbers” and “Queen rise up steadily.” Build clearer sentences with a subject and verb, keep past-tense reporting consistent, and check agreement and punctuation.

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