Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-12

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 tables illustrates changes in the population of New York City and its five districts of (Manhattan, Brooklyn Bronx Queens, Staten Island) over three centuries. Overall, it is clear that New York City had the largest population growth, whereas Manhattan had the lowest population growth, while other districts (Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, Staten Island) combined together took the second place.Population levels have changed in three, while Manhattan population has declined from previous century.

New York City had 79,216 in 1800 and grew by more than four times to 3,437,202 in 1900 and in 2000 this number rose 8,00,9185 which is more than ten folds of population. In other districts (Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, Staten island) together was 18,701 in 1800 by 1900 the population numbers rose to 1,587,109 which six times from previous century.

While Manhattan started with 60,515 people in 1800, which rose to three fold in 1900 to 1,850,093. by 2000 the number of people fell to 1,538,096 which signifcantly lower than the previous century.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the main overall contrast: New York City’s population rose substantially, while Manhattan’s population fell between 1900 and 2000. You also include relevant figures for all three years and report the shift in the other districts’ share from 24% to 81%. However, the overview is unclear in places, particularly “Population levels have changed in three,” and the claim that Manhattan had the “lowest population growth” is imprecise: it grew strongly to 1900 before declining. The other districts’ 2000 population and the changing proportions are not fully explained, so some important comparisons remain underdeveloped. Make the overview more precise, then compare the districts’ populations and shares across the period.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure, with an opening overview followed by paragraphs reporting figures for the city and districts. This gives the reader a basic progression through the data. However, connections between ideas are sometimes awkward or unclear: “while other districts … took the second place” does not explain the basis of the ranking, and “Population levels have changed in three” is difficult to follow. The final paragraph focuses on Manhattan without a clear link back to the other districts, and punctuation around sentence boundaries is inconsistent, as in “1900. by 2000”. Use clearer topic sentences and link comparisons explicitly, for example by contrasting Manhattan’s decline with the continued growth elsewhere.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for describing data, including “grew,” “rose,” “fell,” “population,” and “previous century,” so the main trends are generally understandable. There are also attempts at more precise expressions such as “more than four times” and “significantly lower.” However, several choices are inaccurate or unnatural, including “took the second place,” “three fold,” and “more than ten folds of population.” Spelling and capitalisation errors, such as “signifcantly” and “Staten island,” also reduce control. Aim for standard collocations used in data reporting, and check spelling and number expressions carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including a contrast with “whereas” and a time clause beginning “While Manhattan started…”. However, some sentence structures are incomplete or inaccurately formed, which sometimes makes relationships between figures unclear. For example, “In other districts … together was 18,701 in 1800 by 1900 the population numbers rose…” lacks a clear grammatical connection between the two time points. There are also agreement and article errors in “The tables illustrates” and “Manhattan population,” as well as inconsistent sentence punctuation. Build comparisons in complete clauses, check subject–verb agreement, and use full stops and capital letters consistently.

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