Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-17

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 first table illustrates the figures of total population in New York, while the other two tables demonstrate the total proportion as well as number of individuals in five different cities from 1800 to 2000. Overall, New York had the higest population as compared to other cities throughout the time.

Looking at the figures in greater details, the popuation of New York was almost 80 thousand in 1800, on the other hand, the combined population of the other four districts was just below 20 thousand. Manhattan was on the second place with 60 thousand number of people, which was 76% of the total.

Meanwhile, the number of individuals in New York increased five time over the ten decades and followed by a significent increase till 2000 with above 8 millions of total individuals. In addition to that, number of individuals in other four districts reached 1.5 million, despite that, Manhatten had 54% of the total proportion of population in 1900 followed by a decline to 19% in 2000. While, combined population of Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens and State Island reached 6 and a half million till 2000.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the broad rise in New York City’s population and report several relevant figures, including about 80,000 in 1800, more than 8 million in 2000, and Manhattan’s changing share. However, the overview is inaccurate: “New York had the highest population as compared to other cities throughout the time” treats the districts as separate cities and misses the key shift from Manhattan’s dominance to the other four districts. Some details are also misreported or unclear: the other districts had about 1.59 million in 1900, not 1.5 million, and the city’s population did not increase fivefold from 1800 to 1900. A clearer overview and more accurate comparisons would make the summary more complete and relevant.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic paragraph structure, moving from an introduction and overview to details about the three years, and expressions such as “Meanwhile” and “In addition to that” attempt to connect information. However, the progression is not consistently clear: the second paragraph moves between the total population, the other districts, and Manhattan without a clear organising principle. Some linking phrases are used inaccurately or create awkward transitions, as in “on the other hand” and “While,” which begins a fragment-like final sentence. Group the information by time period or by Manhattan versus the other districts, and use references and connectors only where the relationship between figures is clear.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some task-relevant vocabulary, including “combined population,” “proportion,” “increased,” and “decline,” so the main subject is generally understandable. However, the range is limited by repeated use of “number of individuals” and “population,” while several choices are imprecise or unnatural for describing tables. For example, “five different cities” should refer to districts, and “Manhattan was on the second place” does not express the intended comparison naturally. Spelling errors such as “higest,” “popuation,” “significent,” “Manhatten,” and “State Island” also reduce accuracy. Use precise terms such as “district,” “accounted for,” and “rose” or “fell,” and check spelling carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mixture of simple and more complex sentences, including clauses introduced by “while” and “despite that,” and the overall meaning can usually be followed. However, errors in sentence construction and grammatical forms recur. For example, “the number of individuals in New York increased five time” has a plural-form error, while “In addition to that, number of individuals…” is missing an article. The sentence beginning “While, combined population…” is not a complete, well-formed clause, and “Manhattan was on the second place with 60 thousand number of people” has an awkward grammatical structure. Practise forming complete comparisons and checking articles, plurals, and clause boundaries; this will make your varied sentence attempts more controlled.

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

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