Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-27

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 table illustrates the changes in the total population of New York City across two centuries from the year 1800 to 2000. Futhermore, the second and third tables display changes in the population of the five districts of the city over the same period.

Firslty, New York City's whole population was relatively low in the year 1800, standing at approximately 79,216. Then after hundred years, it had increased to 3,437,202.

However, in the year 2000, it had witnessed the significant rise in it's population which was 8,009,185.

Secondly, we shall discuss about the population in 5 districts.

Manhattan, had the highest population in the year 1800, standing at 76 percent alone in comparison of other 4 districts which were at 24 percent, followed by the year 1900 which was at 54 percent, still was higher than other 4 districts. However, it gradually decreased to 19 percent in the 2000. Now other 4 districts are covering up the whole population at 81 percent in the year 2000.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You identify the overall growth in New York City’s population and the shift in population share from Manhattan to the other districts. However, the response only partially reports the tables: it gives the total figures and percentage shares, but omits the district population counts, including Manhattan’s decline from 1,850,093 to 1,538,096 and the other districts’ rise to 6,471,089. The overview is also limited; it would be clearer to state that the city’s total population rose throughout, while Manhattan’s share fell and the other districts became dominant. The response contains 147 words, below the required 150; the 20 words copied from the prompt are excluded. These omissions and limited development leave important information under-reported.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, a paragraph on the citywide figures, and a paragraph about the districts. Sequencing words such as “Firstly,” “Then,” and “Secondly” help signal the order of information. However, progression is not always smooth. The first paragraph separates the 1800, 1900, and 2000 figures into short statements, while the district paragraph combines several comparisons in a long, crowded sentence. “However” is used to introduce a further increase in the total population, where a contrast is not clear, and “Now” is imprecise for describing the 2000 data. Grouping related figures and using clearer links such as “By contrast” would make the comparisons easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant vocabulary for describing data, including “population,” “increased,” “decreased,” and “significant rise,” so the main trends are generally understandable. However, the range is limited and several choices or collocations are awkward: “discuss about the population” is not idiomatic, “covering up the whole population” does not accurately express population share, and “standing at 76 percent alone” is unclear. There are also noticeable spelling errors, including “Futhermore” and “Firslty,” and the contraction “it's” is incorrectly written for the possessive form. Aim for precise reporting language such as “accounted for,” “represented,” and “rose to,” and check spelling and word forms carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more extended sentence forms, and the main figures and trends can usually be understood. However, control is inconsistent, particularly in longer sentences. For example, “Manhattan, had the highest population … followed by the year 1900 which was at 54 percent” has faulty punctuation and an unclear structure: a year cannot itself be “at” a percentage. “However, it gradually decreased to 19 percent in the 2000” also has an unnecessary article before the year. Other issues include “in comparison of” and the sentence fragment-like construction “still was higher than other 4 districts.” Use complete, clearly structured comparisons, and check articles, prepositions, punctuation, and sentence boundaries.

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

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