Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-16

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 three tables illustrate about the changes in the total population of New York City and changes the population and percentage of total population of five districts - Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens and Staten Island between 1800 and 2000.

Overall, the population of New York City increased dramatically. In Manhattan district had highest population than other districts. The percentage of total population in Manhattan districts decreased sharply, while in other districts had the population rose gradually.

The population of New York City stood at 79,216 in 1800, whereas in Manhattan district had 60,515, which was 76% of total population and 18,701 people lived in other districts, where was 24% of total population of New York City. The population in Manhattan districts higher than other districts in 1900, there were, 1,850,096 and 1,587,109 which was 54% and 46% of total population in Manhattan districts and other districts, respectively.

Between 1900 and 2000, in other 4 districts had the populatin went up by 35% and in Manhattan districts the percentage of total population fell from 54% to 19%. At the end of period, New York City had the 8,009,185 population.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the main overall rise in New York City’s population and the shift in population share from Manhattan to the other districts. The figures for 1800 and the 1900 comparison are mostly reported accurately, and you include the final city total. However, the overview says Manhattan had the highest population without clarifying that this was true in 1800 and 1900, but not in 2000. The key change in absolute population is also under-reported: Manhattan’s population fell from about 1.85 million to 1.54 million, while the other districts rose to 6.47 million. The claim that they increased by 35% is inaccurate; their population grew by far more than this. Report the 2000 figures and distinguish population totals from percentage shares more clearly.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview and two detail paragraphs. This gives the reader a coherent overall route through the information, and time markers such as “In 1800” and “Between 1900 and 2000” help establish chronology. However, some links are awkward or unclear, particularly “The population in Manhattan districts higher than other districts in 1900, there were…” and “where was 24%”. The final paragraph moves from a percentage increase to Manhattan’s share and then the city total without clearly connecting these comparisons. Organise the details by period or by Manhattan versus the other districts, and use clear linking phrases to show how each figure relates to the others.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for describing tables, including “increased dramatically”, “percentage”, “decreased sharply” and “stood at”. These choices show an appropriate attempt to describe trends and proportions. However, some expressions are imprecise or unnatural, such as “changes the population”, “had highest population than” and “the population rose gradually”; the last also understates the substantial growth shown in the data. “Other districts” is understandable, but naming them collectively as the other four districts would be clearer. There is also a spelling error in “populatin”. Aim for more accurate collocations and use terms such as “population share” when discussing percentages, so the reader can distinguish proportions from population totals.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including comparisons with “whereas” and a time clause beginning “Between 1900 and 2000”. Some sentences communicate the intended meaning, but grammatical errors recur and sometimes make relationships difficult to follow. For example, “In Manhattan district had highest population” lacks a clear subject and verb structure, while “the population in Manhattan districts higher than other districts” is missing a finite verb. The sentence beginning “The population of New York City stood…” also contains several clauses joined without secure grammatical control. Check articles, verb forms and sentence boundaries, and build comparisons with complete patterns such as “Manhattan’s population was higher than that of the other districts.”

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