Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 7.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-07-24
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 7.0)
The first table provides information about the total population of New York City between 1800 and 2000. While the remaining tables illustrate the proportion of the people living in five different districts (Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, Staten island).
Overall, the total residents of New York City grow significantly during the period. Similarly, all the five districts experienced healthy growth. while, Manhattan accounted for more than half of the total population in the beginning, while in the final year other districts housed the most residents.
In 1800, New York City had the population of 79,216 with 60,515 of the residents living in Manhattan, meanwhile the rest of them living in other districts with 18,701. By 1900, the population grew to 3,437,202 with more than half of them living in Manhattan and 46% of them belonging to the other districts.
Similarly, the population of New York City doubled to 8,009,185 in 2000 but the population contribution of the districts reversed. Manhattan only accounted for 19% of the total population, in contrast the other districts outraced Manhattan with 6,471,089 or 81% of the people living there.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 7.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 7.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 7.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 6.5 |
| Overall | 7.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.5
The response covers all parts of the task well. You have successfully identified the main trends in total population and the shift in distribution between Manhattan and the other districts. The data is accurately selected and compared, particularly the contrast between 1800 and 2000. To reach a higher band, ensure that the data for all five districts is mentioned or grouped more clearly, as the prompt specifically asks for information regarding the five districts. Currently, you group them as 'other districts' throughout, which slightly under-develops the specific details provided in the tables for individual boroughs like Brooklyn or Queens.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0
The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, overview, and body paragraphs. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the overview from the specific data points. Cohesive devices such as 'Similarly', 'In contrast', and 'By 1900' are used effectively to guide the reader. However, there are minor issues with sentence-level cohesion; for example, the second sentence of the introduction is a fragment ('While the remaining tables...'), and the use of 'while' in the second paragraph is slightly repetitive and grammatically awkward. Improving the flow between sentences would enhance the overall coherence.
Lexical Resource — Band 7.0
You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'proportion', 'accounted for', and 'reversed'. There are some minor inaccuracies in word choice, such as 'outraced', which is not the most natural collocation in this context (perhaps 'surpassed' or 'outnumbered' would be better). Additionally, there is a slight repetition of the word 'population' and 'districts'. To improve, try to incorporate more varied synonyms for growth and distribution to show greater flexibility and precision in your writing.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5
The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is always clear, there are several grammatical errors. For instance, 'the total residents... grow' should be 'grew' (tense consistency), and 'the rest of them living' is a fragment. There are also minor punctuation errors, such as the lowercase 'island' in 'Staten island'. While these errors do not impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and ensuring every sentence has a finite verb will significantly improve your accuracy.
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