Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-15

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 given tabular illustration depicts information reading the statement for population of new york city in 1800 to 200.moverover,show tabular in manhattan while,other districts.The data has been calibrate in numbers or precentage.

overall,it is vivd that in year 1800 populate 79,216 and other districts in year 2000 had been immidately increased 6,471,089.

as it can be seen that of New York Population in year 1800 had 79,216 while,in year 1900 had been increased to 3,437,202 after that populate in year 2000 fastely upword 8,009,185.Moreover,Manhattan in year 1800 60,515 had been 76% beside,population in year 1900 1,850,093 has been increased furthermore, in year 2000 populate has been 1,538,096 upword.

moving toword further detail in year 1800 24% populate and in year 1900 has been increased 46%.At last in year 2000 upline 81%.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify the broad subject and include several relevant figures, such as the city’s population rising from 79,216 to 8,009,185 and the other districts’ share reaching 81% by 2000. However, the response only partially summarises the tables: it does not clearly explain that Manhattan’s population peaked in 1900 and then fell, or contrast this with the continued growth of the other districts. The overview is unclear and does not bring the main shift in population distribution into focus. Some figures are also presented without enough context, and the response is 19 words below the required minimum. To improve, write a clear overview and compare the key trends across all three years, using accurate figures and complete explanations.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

There is some basic organisation: an opening, an overview attempt beginning “overall,” and paragraphs that move from the city total to Manhattan and then the other districts. This gives the reader a rough sense of the intended sequence. However, progression is not consistently clear, and several links are awkward or incomplete, such as “Moreover, Manhattan in year 1800…” and “moving toword further detail.” Connectors including “while,” “after that,” and “At last” do not always show the relationship between the figures accurately. Paragraphing also separates information without making the comparisons easy to follow. Use a simple structure—introduction, overview, then two comparison paragraphs—and link each figure explicitly to its year and population group.

Lexical Resource: Band 4.5

The response uses a small set of task-related terms, including “population,” “districts,” “increased,” and “percentage,” so the topic is generally recognisable. However, vocabulary is limited and repeated, while frequent spelling and word-choice problems make some phrases difficult to interpret. Examples include “populate,” “fastely upword,” “immidately,” and “upline”; these are not suitable or clear ways to describe the data. “Tabular illustration” and “data has been calibrate” are also unnatural in this context. Build a reliable range of chart language, such as “rose,” “declined,” “accounted for,” and “the proportion of the total,” and check spelling and word forms carefully. More precise vocabulary would make the comparisons clearer.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

You attempt to report changes over time and use some linking structures, but the range of sentence patterns is limited, and errors occur frequently enough to make several statements hard to understand. For example, “in year 1800 populate 79,216” lacks a clear subject and verb, while “Manhattan in year 1800 60,515 had been 76%” does not form a complete grammatical comparison. Tense and verb forms are also unreliable, as in “has been increased” and “populate has been.” Articles, sentence boundaries, and punctuation are often missing or inconsistent. Practise writing complete sentences with a clear subject, verb, and comparison, for example: “Manhattan’s population rose to 1,850,093 in 1900, then fell to 1,538,096 by 2000.”

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.