Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-07-31
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)
The first table show changes in the total population of New York City from year 1800 to 2000. The second and third tables illustrates changes in the population of the five districts of the city- Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, Staten Island over the same period. Overall, total population grow rapidly from year 1800 to 2000 from 79,216 to 8,009,185.
Initially, Manhattan district shows population 60,515 as percentage of total population leads to 76% more than other districts. However, in year 1900 population grow steadily about 1,850,093 and in 2000 it reaches 1,538,096 of 19% of total population.
On the contrary, other districts population gradually increases from 18,701 to 6,471,089 in 2000. In addition, there is increase in the percentage of total population from 24% to 81% in three years. Moreover, after the year 1900 had 46% of population surpassed the population and shown rapid growth from 1,587,109 to 6,471,089 of 81% of total population of New York City.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 6.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 6.0 |
| Overall | 6.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5
The response covers the main features of the data, including the total population growth and the shift in distribution between Manhattan and the other districts. However, the analysis is somewhat superficial. The student identifies the initial dominance of Manhattan and its subsequent decline, as well as the growth of the other districts, but the reporting of figures is occasionally confusing. For instance, the phrase 'in three years' is factually incorrect based on the data provided, and the description of the percentages in the final paragraph is difficult to follow. A more precise selection of data points and clearer comparisons would have improved the score.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5
The essay is organised into logical paragraphs, with an introduction, a body paragraph for Manhattan, and a body paragraph for the other districts. Cohesive devices such as 'However', 'On the contrary', and 'In addition' are used to link ideas. However, the progression of ideas within the final paragraph is somewhat disjointed, and the referencing is occasionally unclear, particularly when discussing the percentages. The flow is generally logical, but the mechanical nature of some transitions and the lack of clarity in the final summary prevent a higher score.
Lexical Resource — Band 6.0
The vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing the student to describe trends such as 'grow rapidly', 'increases', and 'surpassed'. However, there are instances of imprecise word choice and awkward phrasing, such as 'leads to 76%' and 'had 46% of population surpassed the population'. These errors occasionally hinder the clarity of the information being presented. To reach a higher band, the student should focus on using more precise collocations and avoiding repetitive phrasing when describing statistical changes.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0
The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors. Subject-verb agreement issues are common, such as 'The first table show' and 'tables illustrates'. There are also issues with article usage and prepositional phrasing, such as 'in year 1900' instead of 'in the year 1900'. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to be noticeable and detract from the overall quality of the writing. More attention to basic grammatical accuracy is required.
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