Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-08-08

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 tables show the population of New York City and its five districts in 1800, 1900 and 2000.

Overall, the population of New York City increased a lot over the 200 years. Manhattan had most of the people in 1800, but by 2000, most people lived in the other four districts.

In 1800, New York City had 79,216 people. Manhattan had 60,515 people, which was 76% of the total population. The other four districts had only 18,701 people, or 24%. By 1900, the city’s population had grown to 3,437,202. Manhattan had 1,850,093 people, making up 54% of the total, while the other districts had 1,587,109 people, or 46%.

In 2000, the total population reached 8,009,185. Manhattan’s population fell slightly to 1,538,096, and its share dropped to only 19%. On the other hand, the other four districts grew greatly and reached 6,471,089 people, which was 81% of the city’s total population.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

You have successfully identified the main trends and provided a clear overview of the population shifts in New York City. You selected key data points to support your summary, such as the initial dominance of Manhattan and its subsequent decline in percentage share compared to the other districts. The comparison between the years 1800, 1900, and 2000 is accurate and well-structured. To reach a higher band, ensure you include more specific comparisons between the individual districts (e.g., mentioning which of the 'other four' grew the most) rather than grouping them together, which would provide a more comprehensive analysis of the provided tables.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The response is logically organized, with a clear introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs that follow a chronological order. Each paragraph has a clear central topic. You use cohesive devices such as 'In 1800', 'By 1900', and 'On the other hand' to guide the reader through the data. The progression of ideas is smooth and easy to follow. To improve, you could vary your cohesive devices further to avoid repetitive sentence structures, but the current level of organization is effective and clear.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You use a sufficient range of vocabulary to describe the data, such as 'total population', 'making up', and 'share dropped'. The language is accurate and appropriate for a report on statistical data. However, the vocabulary is somewhat basic; for example, using 'increased a lot' or 'grew greatly' is functional but lacks the precision expected at higher bands. Incorporating more academic collocations and precise descriptors for trends would enhance your score significantly.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

Your grammar is generally accurate, and you demonstrate a good control of simple and compound sentence structures. There are no significant errors that impede communication. You use past tense correctly to describe historical data. To achieve a higher band, you should aim to incorporate a wider variety of complex sentence structures, such as using relative clauses or participial phrases (e.g., '..., which accounted for a significant portion of the growth'). The current sentences are clear but somewhat uniform in their construction.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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