Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-11-02

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)

The provided tables illustrates the number of citizens lived from 19th century to year 2000 in the five districts of New York city.

Overall all the three tables have the data of population lived in the same era but in different countys, although the number of people in each row but the perecentage of population in Manhattan districts in showing the drastical decrease as comparison to the other dirsticts.

The first table include the total amount of residents from year 1800 to year 2000, which shows the overall increase in statistics of habitants. The other two charts providing the information of percentage of the population increased.

Indeed the total number is rised in every row but if we compete the last two tables there is a large fluctuation in the data because in other districts the numbers surged dramatically in perecentage while in Manhattan the story is much different it only up with 19 percent while in other districts it move upward causing 81 percent increase.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the broad pattern that New York’s population grew and that Manhattan’s share declined while the other districts’ share increased. However, the account is only partly accurate and developed: the figures show Manhattan’s share fell from 76% to 19%, while the other districts rose from 24% to 81%, not that Manhattan “only up with 19 percent” or that the other districts had an “81 percent increase.” These are final shares, not increases. The response also omits the key total-population figures and the fact that Manhattan’s population itself rose to 1,850,093 in 1900 before falling to 1,538,096 in 2000. A clearer overview and accurate comparisons of both population and percentage would make the main features more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

There is a basic paragraph structure, moving from an introduction and overview to comments on the tables, and linking expressions such as “Overall,” “Indeed,” and “while” help show relationships. However, progression is not consistently clear: the third paragraph says the other tables show percentages “increased,” without specifying the comparison, and the final paragraph combines several claims in a long sentence that is difficult to follow. References such as “the last two tables” and “it” are also not always precise. Organise the report around the total population trend and then the contrast between Manhattan and the other districts, using shorter sentences and explicit year-to-year comparisons.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You attempt a range of task-related vocabulary, including “overall increase,” “percentage,” “dramatically,” and “fluctuation.” However, several choices are inaccurate or unnatural for describing tables, which sometimes obscures the intended meaning. For example, “citizens lived” and “countys” do not express the population figures clearly, while “the story is much different” is too conversational for an academic report. “Fluctuation” is also unsuitable because the data show a clear change over the selected years rather than repeated variation. Spelling errors such as “perecentage” and “dirsticts” further reduce precision. Use standard terms such as “population,” “share,” “rose,” and “fell,” and check spelling and collocations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including a contrast introduced by “although” and a clause beginning “while.” However, control is inconsistent, and errors frequently make the relationships between ideas harder to understand. For example, “The provided tables illustrates” has a subject–verb agreement error, and “The other two charts providing” lacks a finite verb. The opening phrase “the number of citizens lived” is also grammatically incomplete, while “the number of people in each row but…” leaves the clause unfinished. In the final sentence, the long chain of clauses is not punctuated or structured clearly. Practise complete sentence patterns, agreement, and past-tense reporting, then separate contrasting data into shorter sentences.

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