Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-11

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 first table among three shows the number of population as whole of New York city between 1800 and 2000. While the other two contains the data of five districts number of population individually of the city around the same period.

Overall, the New York City information collectively of the five mention districts shows a significant rise in population of the city between two centuries. While looking at the other two tables provides the proportion which shows the Manhattan district contribution separate from other and remaining four districts is provide in a separate table collectively.

Manhattan district shows the growing number from 60,515 to 1,538,096,also the proportional number decreases from 76% to 19% f 1800 to 2000 alone

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify the broad rise in New York City’s population and note the key shift in Manhattan’s share, from 76% to 19%. However, the response only partially reports the tables: it omits the total population figures and the 1900 data, and gives no specific account of the other districts’ growth from 18,701 to 6,471,089 or their rising share. The statement that Manhattan grew from 60,515 to 1,538,096 also skips its 1900 peak of 1,850,093, so the trend is incomplete. The response is 118 words, below the required 150. Add a concise overview and compare the three years using the most important figures, especially the contrasting trends in Manhattan and the other districts.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

There is a basic attempt to organise the response, with an introductory paragraph followed by an overview and a detail about Manhattan. This gives the reader some sense of the task’s structure. However, progression is limited: the second paragraph repeats the idea of what the tables show rather than moving through the main comparisons, and the final sentence ends abruptly. Linking words such as “While” are used in ways that do not clearly connect complete ideas, and the reference to “the other two tables” is not always precise. Use separate paragraphs for the overview and key comparisons, then sequence details by year or by Manhattan versus the other districts. Clearer referencing and transitions would make the report easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The response uses some relevant task vocabulary, including “population,” “proportion,” “district,” and “significant rise,” so the topic is generally recognisable. However, the range is limited and several phrases are awkward or imprecise, such as “number of population,” “information collectively,” and “Manhattan district contribution.” These choices make some relationships between the figures difficult to understand. “Growing number” is also vague when describing a population trend, and “other and remaining four districts” is unnecessarily confusing. Aim for accurate collocations such as “total population,” “accounted for,” and “the combined population of the other four districts.” Repeating a small set of general terms also limits the precision needed to compare the data.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a sentence beginning “While looking at the other two tables,” but control is inconsistent. The opening has agreement errors (“the other two contains”), and “shows the number of population as whole” lacks the grammatical structure needed to express the total clearly. The long overview sentence contains several clauses without clear grammatical relationships, while the final sentence has punctuation and sentence-boundary problems, including “1,538,096,also.” The fragment beginning “While looking” is not a complete sentence, and the final “f 1800” appears to be an incomplete construction. Use shorter, complete sentences first, checking subject–verb agreement, articles, and punctuation before attempting more complex comparisons.

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