Band 4.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-28

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 4.0)

The table diagram illustrates , amount of the residents changes of new york city between 1800 and 2000.

Overall ,in 2000 The city was densely populated ,in addition manhattan and other districs also has the highest amount of residents in 2000 .

in 2000 the city was over populated respectively anomg other years with [redacted phone] .Whilst in 1800 least amount of population live in this city with 79216 population .

In manhattan 545 population reached to its peak in 1900 with 545 residents before falling to

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 3.5

The response identifies the broad rise in New York City’s population, noting 79,216 in 1800 and 8,009,185 in 2000, and it attempts to compare Manhattan with the other districts. However, coverage is very limited and the account ends mid-sentence, so key changes are not reported. The statement that Manhattan reached a peak in 1900 is broadly correct, but “545 residents” is a serious misreading: the table gives 1,850,093, followed by a decline to 1,538,096 in 2000. The overview also incorrectly says Manhattan and the other districts had their highest populations in 2000. The response is 86 words, below the required 150; develop the overview and report the main figures and changing shares.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.0

There is a basic attempt to organise the response, beginning with an introduction and using “Overall” to signal a summary before moving to figures. “Whilst” also attempts to connect a comparison. However, the ideas do not progress clearly: the overview repeats the claim about 2000, and the final sentence stops at “before falling to,” leaving the comparison unfinished. The paragraphing and punctuation are inconsistent, with spaces before commas and no clear separation of the main features. To improve, use a complete introduction, a concise overview, and a paragraph comparing the population figures and shares across the three years. Ensure each linking word introduces a complete, logically connected idea.

Lexical Resource: Band 4.5

The response uses some task-related vocabulary, including “population,” “residents,” “peak,” and “falling,” showing an attempt to describe numerical change. However, word choice and collocation are often inaccurate or repetitive. “The table diagram” is not a natural description of the visual, while “amount of the residents changes” and “over populated” do not express the intended information clearly. “Densely populated” is also not supported by the table, which gives population totals rather than density. Spelling errors such as “districs” and “anomg” further reduce precision. Build a small set of accurate terms for population totals and proportions, and use them consistently rather than relying on vague phrases such as “highest amount of residents.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

The response attempts a few different sentence patterns, including an overall statement and a comparison introduced by “Whilst.” However, control is uneven, and several sentences have errors in articles, agreement, tense, or sentence construction. For example, “the city was densely populated” is not a suitable past-tense description of the 2000 data, and “Manhattan and other districs also has” has a subject–verb agreement error. The opening phrase, “The table diagram illustrates, amount of the residents changes,” is not a complete, well-formed sentence. The final sentence is also incomplete. Practise writing complete sentences with a clear subject and verb, and check agreement and tense before adding more complex clauses.

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