Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-08-19
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 6.0)
The three tables summarise the data about population changes in New York City and in five districts (Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, Staten Island) of the city in 2 Centuries.
Overall, the people living in New York City surged by the end of period. By contrast, Manhattan residents experienced fluctuations and other four districts generated figures with rapid increase by the end of time.
In 1800, the total population in New York City was 79,216 which rapidly increased to 3,437,202 in 1900 which is twice in figures than the population in Manhattan which was 54% of all population . Furthermore, in 2000 populace rose to 8,009,185. Meanwhile, people of Manhattan showed a gradual decrease to 1,538,096 which is 19% of total population in New York City.
However, other district (Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, Staten Island) experienced a 46% which is 1,587,109) of whole populace in 1900 followed by sharp rise in 2000 and make 81% (6,471,089) of all New York City population.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 6.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 6.0 |
| Overall | 6.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0
The response provides a clear overview and identifies the main trends, such as the overall population surge and the contrasting performance of Manhattan versus the other districts. However, the data reporting is inconsistent. For instance, the statement that the 1900 population was 'twice in figures than the population in Manhattan' is confusingly phrased and mathematically imprecise. Furthermore, the grouping of the four districts is a good analytical choice, but the specific figures provided for 1900 and 2000 contain some inaccuracies or awkward phrasing that make the data difficult to follow. To reach a higher band, ensure that comparisons are stated clearly and that all figures are accurately transcribed from the source tables.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5
The essay is logically organized into an introduction, an overview, and two body paragraphs. The use of cohesive devices such as 'Overall', 'By contrast', 'Furthermore', and 'However' helps to guide the reader through the information. However, the cohesion is sometimes mechanical, and there are instances where the flow is interrupted by awkward sentence structures, such as the parenthetical information in the final paragraph. Paragraphing is used appropriately, but the internal logical progression within the paragraphs could be smoother to ensure that the comparisons between the districts and the total population are more clearly linked.
Lexical Resource — Band 6.0
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, with attempts to use descriptive terms like 'surged', 'fluctuations', and 'populace'. However, there are several instances of imprecise word choice and awkward collocations, such as 'generated figures with rapid increase' and 'end of time'. The use of 'populace' is slightly misused in this context, as 'population' would be more natural. While the range of vocabulary is sufficient to convey the main points, the lack of precision and occasional errors in word choice prevent the response from reaching a higher band score.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0
The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with articles ('the other four districts', 'the total population'), prepositions, and sentence construction. For example, the phrase 'which is twice in figures than the population' is grammatically incorrect. Additionally, there are issues with subject-verb agreement and punctuation, such as the misplaced parentheses in the final paragraph. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to limit the score to a 6.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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