Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-22

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 table illustrates the information about the changes in the total population of New York city from 1800 to 2000. The second and third tables depicts the population of the five districts of the city over same period(Manhattan, Brooklyn ,Bronx, Queens, Staten Island).

Overall, all the five cities had a growth of population,despite this Manhattan had more percentage of population than the other cities in the New York.

In 1800, the population of all five countries was 79,216 it garadually grown to 3,437,202 in 1900. Later in the year 2000 it had increased to 8,009,185.There is an steady growth in the population compared to past years.

Manhattan had more increase in population compared to remaining four countries in 1800 it was reecorded with 60,515 percentage of population,while the remaining countries had recorded with 18,701 percentage. In 1900, the population in Manhattan was 1,850,093, which was higher than the all four countries. In 2000, the Manhattan population is less when compared to remaining countries with 81 percentage.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify the overall rise in New York City’s population and include figures for all three years, which gives the reader a useful starting point. However, the overview is inaccurate: Manhattan did not have a larger share than the other districts throughout the period; its share fell from 76% in 1800 to 19% in 2000, while the other districts’ share rose to 81%. The response also confuses population counts with percentages, describing 60,515 and 18,701 as percentages, and says all five districts grew even though Manhattan’s population fell between 1900 and 2000. The required minimum of 150 words was not met; 27 words copied from the prompt were excluded. Select the main contrasts accurately and explain them clearly.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic paragraph structure: an introduction, an overview, and paragraphs reporting the total and district figures. The years are presented in chronological order, and phrases such as “In 1800” and “In 1900” help signal the sequence. However, the progression is weakened by unclear comparisons and repeated references to “the remaining countries,” which are districts, not countries. The overview’s claim about Manhattan also conflicts with the later statement that its population was lower in 2000. Some linking is awkward or mechanically added, as in “despite this” and “Later in the year 2000.” Group the figures by trend and use clear references to Manhattan and the other four districts to make the comparisons easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant task vocabulary, including “population,” “increased,” “recorded,” and “compared,” so the topic is generally understandable. However, the range is limited and several word choices make the data difficult to interpret. “Countries” is repeatedly used instead of “districts,” and “60,515 percentage of population” incorrectly labels a population count as a percentage. There are also spelling errors such as “garadually” and “reecorded,” alongside awkward phrases such as “had more increase.” Use precise terms consistently: distinguish a population figure from a percentage share, and describe changes with natural collocations such as “rose to,” “accounted for,” and “declined.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt a few longer sentence forms, including the opening sentence and the contrast beginning “despite this,” but most of the writing relies on simple statements, and errors are frequent. Subject–verb agreement is inconsistent: “the second and third tables depicts” should be “depict,” and “it had increased” does not agree clearly with the plural subject “all five countries.” Articles and sentence construction also need attention, as in “There is an steady growth” and “Manhattan had more increase.” Commas are often missing or misplaced, creating run-on sentences, for example after “population” in the 1800 sentence. Practise accurate simple sentences first, then connect them with correctly punctuated clauses.

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

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