Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-24

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)

There are total five districts in new york whose data is provided here. The increase in population of these districts from the year 1800 to 2000 is really remarkable. The increase in population happened by almost 40 fold in 100 years. A two fold increase can be seen after 1900. The decrease in the population of manhattan district is quite interesting in the 20th century. Other districts including Brooklyn, Bronx, queens and staten island can show an increase in population dramatically over the centuries. Manhattan, from the data it suggests, was the most populated dsitrict in the 1900 having population of nearly 19 lac people. In the 21st century, population of Manhattan district declined surprisingly as compared to other districts of newyork. It looks like alomost 80 percent of the people residing in the newyork city, chose to live the other states like brooklyn, Bronx, etc. But overall, the population of New york city increased over the years.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the main broad trends: New York City’s population grew substantially, Manhattan’s population fell after 1900, and the other districts became a much larger share of the total. The reference to Manhattan having nearly 1.9 million residents in 1900 is also accurate. However, some key comparisons are imprecise or misleading. The city’s population rose about 43-fold from 1800 to 1900, but it did not simply double after 1900; it increased by more than twice, from 3.4 million to 8 million. Also, residents moved to other districts, not “other states.” The response gives little precise reporting of the figures and percentages, and its overview is not clearly separated from supporting details. Select the main changes and support them with accurate comparisons.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response follows a broadly understandable order, moving from overall population growth to Manhattan and then the other districts. Linking expressions such as “But overall” and “In the 21st century” help signal relationships between ideas. However, the writing is presented as one continuous paragraph, so the overview and detailed comparisons are not clearly organised into stages. Several sentences repeat the general idea of population increase, while the connection between Manhattan’s decline and the growth elsewhere could be made more explicit. The sentence beginning “Manhattan, from the data it suggests” is awkwardly arranged and interrupts the progression. Use a clear overview paragraph followed by a paragraph comparing the districts, and connect each figure directly to the trend it illustrates.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant vocabulary for describing change, including “increase,” “declined,” “most populated,” and “dramatically,” and the reader can generally understand the intended comparisons. There is also an attempt to vary expression with phrases such as “quite interesting” and “remarkable.” However, several choices are informal, vague, or inaccurate for an academic report. “Chose to live” suggests a reason or decision that the tables do not show, and “other states” mislabels the other districts. “Two fold increase” is also an imprecise way to describe the change. Spelling and form errors, including “dsitrict,” “alomost,” and inconsistent capitalisation of place names, reduce control. Prefer precise terms such as “accounted for” and “share of the city’s population.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mixture of simple statements and more complex constructions, for example, “The decrease in the population of Manhattan district is quite interesting in the 20th century” and “It looks like almost 80 percent…”. The main message is usually recoverable, but grammatical control is uneven. The opening, “There are total five districts,” is missing an article and has an unnatural structure; “the increase … happened by almost 40 fold” also uses an awkward grammatical pattern. In “Other districts … can show an increase,” the modal verb makes a factual trend sound like a possibility. The sentence beginning “Manhattan, from the data it suggests” has a faulty clause structure, and punctuation between ideas is sometimes weak. Practise accurate comparative and reporting structures, such as “The population increased approximately 43-fold” and “The other districts’ share rose to 81%.”

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