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 initial table provides information regarding the population of New York City for two centuries. The second and third table compares the change in population for the same period for the city Manhattan and other districts Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens and Staten Island respectively.

Overall, New York City provides a prominent increase over the 2 centuries. Manhattan depicts that increase in population has lowered in the second century compared to first century.

Meanwhile, from other district's provided data reveals that the percentage of population growth over the century has lowered.

Taking a closer look in the first table, New York's population have increased from 79,216 to 3,437,202 in one century ([redacted phone]). which afterward almost trippled the amount of the earlier century staying at 8,009,185 in 2000.

On the other hand, the latter tables provide that in manhattan in 1800 was at 60,515 and increased to 1,850,093 in 1900. conversely, for other districts shows much lower increase which was 24% to 46% from 1800 to 1900. Ultimately lookin at the last figure for both tables in 2000 Manhattan stayed at 1,538,096. While other districts combined in the last table stayed at 6,471,089.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You cover the main overall pattern: New York City’s population rose substantially, while Manhattan’s population fell between 1900 and 2000 and the other districts became a larger share of the total. The figures for the city and the district populations are generally accurate. However, the overview is not always clear: saying Manhattan’s increase “has lowered” could mean its growth rate slowed, rather than that its population declined after 1900. The claim that growth in the other districts “has lowered” is also misleading, since their population rose markedly to 6,471,089 by 2000 and their share increased to 81%. Develop the comparison by explicitly contrasting the districts’ population totals and shares across all three years, and distinguish population change from percentage share.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable four-paragraph structure, moving from an introduction and overview to details about the city and districts. This gives the reader a coherent overall arrangement. Some links, however, are mechanical or unclear. “On the other hand” does not clearly signal the relationship between the citywide figures and the district data, while “Ultimately lookin at the last figure” is an awkward transition. The final paragraph also shifts between population totals and percentages without consistently identifying which measure is being compared. Use clearer topic sentences and organise the details chronologically or by district, keeping each comparison together. More precise referencing would help readers follow what “the latter tables” and “the last table” refer to.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You attempt a range of formal vocabulary, including “provides information,” “prominent increase,” “depicts,” and “conversely.” However, several choices are unnatural or imprecise for describing statistical data: a city does not “provide” an increase, and “the percentage of population growth” does not accurately describe the other districts’ rising share of the total. Some expressions, such as “stayed at” for a recorded population and “trippled the amount,” also reduce precision. Spelling errors such as “trippled” and “lookin” are noticeable. Aim for standard data-reporting collocations such as “rose,” “accounted for,” “population total,” and “share of the city’s population,” and check spelling carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You use both simple and more complex forms, including the relative clause in “which afterward almost trippled” and the contrast introduced by “While.” However, some errors in agreement, sentence boundaries, and clause construction remain. For example, “The second and third table compares” has a plural subject with a singular verb, and “New York’s population have increased” should use a singular verb. The sentence beginning “which afterward” is not properly attached to the preceding sentence, and “in Manhattan in 1800 was at 60,515” lacks a clear grammatical subject. Capitalisation and punctuation are also inconsistent after full stops. Practise building complete comparison sentences and checking subject–verb agreement and sentence boundaries.

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