Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)

There are three tables that has information on it. The first table illustrates changes in the total head count of New York City over two decades ago. The last two tables show changes in population of the five different districts over the same period.

Overall, it is clear that Manhattan had the most population in year 1800, compared to the other four districts. However it was dramatically changed between 1900 to 2000, and the other four districts have reached over six million, all of the people combined. Making it the higher populated area than Manhattan.

Turning to the details, New York City had a population of nearly 80 thousand people, and people in Manhattan occupied 76 percent of the population, leaving the 24 percent population to the other four districts. In a following decade, year 1900 head count of the New York City rose significantly reaching over 3.4 million people, and the percentage of the people that live in Manhattan fell to 54. In contrast the percentage of the other district rose to 46.

Meanwhile, in year 2000 population of New York City has more than doubled compared to previous decade. The other four districts like Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, Staten island reached over 6.4 million making it occupy 81 percent of the people that live in New York. Compared to that Manhattan district population dropped to over 1.5 million, and percentage also fell dramatically to 19 percent.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response addresses the task by summarizing the provided tables, identifying the main trends, and making comparisons. You successfully highlighted the shift in population dominance from Manhattan to the other four districts. However, there are some inaccuracies in data interpretation; for instance, you mention 'two decades ago' instead of the 200-year period (1800–2000) shown in the tables. Additionally, the statement that the population 'more than doubled' between 1900 and 2000 is incorrect based on the data (it increased from 3.4 million to 8 million). While the main features are covered, more precision in reporting the figures is required for a higher band.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, with an introduction, an overview, and two body paragraphs detailing the data. You use some cohesive devices such as 'However', 'Turning to the details', and 'In contrast' to link ideas. However, the flow is occasionally hindered by awkward phrasing, such as 'all of the people combined. Making it the higher populated area'. The referencing is sometimes unclear, and the transition between sentences could be smoother to improve the overall progression of ideas.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'illustrates', 'dramatically', 'occupied', and 'significantly'. However, there are some word choice errors and unnatural collocations, such as 'head count' (which is informal for this context) and 'the other four districts like Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, Staten island'. There is also a lack of variety in reporting verbs and descriptive language. To improve, focus on using more precise academic vocabulary and ensuring collocations are accurate.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues ('There are three tables that has information'), incorrect article usage ('in year 1800'), and awkward sentence construction ('the other four districts have reached over six million, all of the people combined'). While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are persistent. Increasing the frequency of error-free sentences and improving control over basic grammar would significantly enhance your score.

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