Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-13

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 TABLER CHRT DEPICS DIFFRENT IN THE TOTAL NUMBER OF PEOPLE OF NEW YORK CITY FROM 1800 TO 2000. THE SECOND AND THIRD TABLER CHANGE IN THE RESIDENTS OF THE FIVE DISTRICTS OF THE CITY.

OVERALL, IT CAN BE SEEN THAT, THE HEGEST POPULATION OF NEW YORK 2000. HOVEVR THE LOWEST 1800.WHILLE MANHATTAN HEGEST 1900 AND OTHER LOWEST 1800.

TO BEGIN WITH,IT CAN BE NOTISED THAT IN 1800 POPULATION NEW YORK CITY 60,515 AND THE PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL POPULATION 76%. MOREVER, THE MANHATTAN POPULATION 1,850,093 AND PERCENTAGE 54% IN 1900.NEXT, THE POPULATION DECRESED TO 1,538,096 AND THE PERCENTAGE 19% IN 2000.

ANELISING OF THE CHART, THE OTHER DISTRICTS IN 1800 POPULATION 18,701 AS PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL 24%. FURTHERMORE, THE FIGUR ROSE TO 1,587,109 AS PERCENTAGE IS 46% IN 1900. ON THE OTHER HAND , THR FIGUR SINGNIFECNTLY INCRESED TO 6,471,089 AND THE PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL 81% IN 2000.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify the broad pattern that New York’s population was highest in 2000 and lowest in 1800, and you report several relevant figures for Manhattan and the other districts. However, the overview is incomplete and some key data are misattributed: 60,515 is Manhattan’s 1800 population, not the total population of New York City, which was 79,216. The response also omits the city’s total figures for 1900 and 2000, and the overview does not clearly explain the shift from Manhattan’s majority share in 1800 and 1900 to the other districts’ 81% share in 2000. The response is 136 words, below the required 150; the 12 words copied from the prompt are excluded. Develop the overview and include accurate comparisons to address the task more fully.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and separate paragraphs for Manhattan and the other districts. This gives the reader some sense of how the information is grouped. However, progression within paragraphs is weakened by incomplete or unclear statements, such as “the highest population of New York 2000” and “other lowest 1800.” Several linking expressions, including “Moreover,” “Next,” and “On the other hand,” are used mechanically or do not clearly express the relationship between the figures. The comparison between the two groups is also not brought together in a clear concluding overview. Use complete sentences, connect each year’s figures explicitly, and choose transitions that accurately signal addition, contrast, or change.

Lexical Resource: Band 4.5

You attempt some task-relevant vocabulary, including “population,” “percentage,” “decreased,” and “increased,” and these choices show awareness of the language needed to describe tables. However, the range is limited and repeated, while frequent spelling errors make several words difficult to recognise: “TABLER,” “HEGEST,” “NOTISED,” and “SINGNIFECNTLY.” Some phrases are also imprecise or unnatural, such as “the figure rose to” when referring to population and “the total number of people” where “total population” would be more concise. These issues can impede the reader’s understanding. Build a small bank of accurate terms such as “accounted for,” “share,” and “population grew,” and check spelling and collocations carefully before submitting.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

There are attempts to use more than simple statements, including the contrast introduced by “while” and the time sequence marked by “Next.” However, most sentences contain grammatical problems, and several are fragments or lack essential sentence elements. For example, “the highest population of New York 2000” has no complete verb structure, while “in 1800 population New York City 60,515” omits the necessary article and verb. The sentence “the Manhattan population 1,850,093 and percentage 54% in 1900” is also incomplete. Punctuation is inconsistent, with missing spaces after full stops and commas. Practise complete subject–verb sentences, for example, “Manhattan’s population was 1,850,093 in 1900,” and use consistent punctuation.

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