Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-19
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 first given table shows the total population of New York City over the period of two centuries from 1800 to 2000. The other two tables show comparison between the population of Manhattan with other four districts which are Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens and Staten Island over the same period of time.
In the year 1800, the total city population estimated around 80 thousand which dramaticaly increased to around 3.45 million after a century. The population doubled in 10 decades raising the total to around 8 million in 2000.
In the start of 19th century, Manhattan was the majorly populated city while the other four districts shared the remaining population.
Two centuries earlier, Manhattan had 76% of total population while the other four districts shared the remaining population. The latest statistics shows the o
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 4.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 4.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0
The response identifies the broad rise in New York’s population and the shift in the districts’ shares, but it reports only a small part of the available information. It correctly gives approximate totals for 1800, 1900 and 2000, and notes Manhattan’s 76% share in 1800. However, “the population doubled in 10 decades” is inaccurate: the total rose from about 3.44 million in 1900 to 8.01 million in 2000, more than doubling. The response ends mid-sentence at “The latest statistics shows the o”, so the key comparison for 2000 is missing, and the 1900 and 2000 district figures are not adequately summarised. The response is also 17 words below the required minimum. Include a clear overview and complete the main comparisons.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5
There is a basic attempt to organise the response: the opening introduces the tables, followed by comments on total population and then the districts. This gives the reader some sense of topic progression. However, the development is incomplete, and the final sentence breaks off, leaving the comparison unfinished. The two sentences about 1800 repeat the same point about Manhattan’s dominance and the other districts’ share, rather than moving the summary forward. Linking is also limited, with time phrases such as “In the year 1800” and “Two centuries earlier” doing most of the organisational work. Group the information into a complete overview and focused comparisons, avoid repeating the same 1800 point, and use clear links to guide the reader through the three dates.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The response uses enough topic vocabulary to communicate the general subject, including “total population,” “districts,” “remaining population” and “statistics.” It also attempts more formal phrasing, such as “over the period of two centuries.” However, the range is uneven and several choices are inaccurate or awkward: “dramaticaly increased” is misspelled and does not fit naturally here, while “Manhattan was the majorly populated city” is an unnatural way to describe its population. “Comparison between the population of Manhattan with” also uses an unsuitable construction. These choices do not prevent the main meaning from being understood, but they reduce precision. Prefer standard data-reporting collocations such as “rose sharply,” “most populous district” and “compare the population of Manhattan with that of the other districts.”
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The response includes some longer sentence forms, for example the opening sentence describing what the tables show, and the basic meaning is generally understandable. However, grammatical control is inconsistent. In “the total city population estimated around 80 thousand,” the sentence needs a verb such as “was estimated at”; “which dramaticaly increased” also has an unclear grammatical link to the preceding clause. The phrase “In the start of 19th century” has problems with the article and preposition, and “The latest statistics shows” has subject–verb disagreement. The final sentence is incomplete, which further affects accuracy. Use complete clauses, check agreement and articles, and vary sentence patterns while keeping each comparison grammatically clear.
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.