Band 4.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.0 · 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 4.0)

The first table display the overall population of new york city its has been observerd the the population of the city was aroud almost eighty thousand during the year 1800 after a year i took an immense rise and reach to almost three and a half million

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 3.0

The response identifies the broad rise in New York City’s population and gives a roughly accurate description of the 1800 figure and the increase by 1900. However, it stops before reporting the 2000 total and does not describe the district figures or the major shift in population share from Manhattan to the other districts. There is also no clear overview of the main trends across the tables. The response is substantially under the required 150 words, which leaves the task only minimally addressed. To improve, summarise the overall growth, compare Manhattan with the other districts across all three years, and include the key figures and proportions.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.0

There is a basic sequence from the 1800 population to the later increase, and the phrase “after a year” attempts to connect the two points. However, the response is a single unfinished sentence, so the information is not organised into a clear introduction, overview and supporting details. The connection is also unclear: “after a year” does not specify the 1900 date, and the sentence ends without completing the comparison or moving to another feature. Use separate sentences and paragraphs to group the city-wide totals and district changes, with clear links such as “By 1900” and “In contrast, by 2000.”

Lexical Resource: Band 4.5

The response uses a few relevant expressions, including “overall population,” “immense rise” and “three and a half million,” which communicate the general idea of growth. However, the vocabulary range is very limited for describing tables, and several choices are inaccurate or awkward: “display” is used where “shows” or “presents” would be natural, while “took an immense rise” is not an appropriate collocation. Spelling and word-form errors such as “observerd” and “aroud” also reduce control. Use precise reporting language such as “increased,” “accounted for” and “population share,” and check spelling and collocations carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

The response attempts to combine information in a longer sentence, but control of basic sentence structure is weak. The opening has an agreement error in “table display,” and “its has been observerd the the population” contains an unclear clause structure and repeated article. The phrase “after a year i took” also has an incorrect subject and tense for describing the data; the population, rather than the writer, should be the subject. Capitalisation and punctuation are missing, and the sentence is not completed with a full stop. Practise accurate simple reporting sentences first, then connect them with time clauses, for example, “By 1900, the population had risen to…”

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