Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-08-21

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 given tables illustrate how the population of New York City and its areas changed from 1800 to 2000. The areas of New York City included in the table are Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx, Queen and Staten Island.

Overall, the population of the New York increased significantly between the years 1800 to 2000. Moreover, the population of the Manhattan decreased massively. Conversely, a large number of areas saw a huge increase in people who lived there.

The number of residents in the New York City in 1800 was 79,216. However, this number increased to 3,437,202 in 1900. Finally, in 2000 the New York City had 8,009,185 citizens, which makes it the year, with the highest population as compared to all the previous years.

76% of people used to live in the Manhattan in 1800, whereas just 24% lived in the other areas of the New York. Nevertheless, the number of citizens moving to the other parts increased in 1900. The number of people living in the Manhattan increased to 1,850,093 from 60,515 in 1900. Nonetheless, its contribution to the total population reduced to 54%. On the other hand, the percentage of population living in the Brooklyn, Bronz, Queens and Staten Islands rose to 46% from 24% in 1800. At last, citizens living in the Manhattan reached the lowest percentage of 19% in 2000. At the same time, the other areas reached their peak population of 6,471,089.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response covers all parts of the task by summarizing the population growth of NYC and the shifting distribution across districts. You successfully identified the main trends, such as the overall growth and the relative decline of Manhattan's population share. However, the analysis is slightly hampered by factual inaccuracies regarding the data; for instance, you state that Manhattan's population 'decreased massively,' whereas the table shows it actually increased from 60,515 to 1,537,000 between 1800 and 2000. Additionally, the term 'Queen' should be 'Queens' and 'Bronz' should be 'Bronx'. While the main features are highlighted, more precise data interpretation would improve the score.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organized into an introduction, an overview, and two body paragraphs. There is a clear progression of ideas, moving from the total population to the district-specific percentages. You use a range of cohesive devices such as 'However,' 'Conversely,' 'Nevertheless,' and 'On the other hand' to link sentences effectively. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the general city data from the district-specific analysis. While the flow is generally smooth, some transitions feel slightly mechanical, but the overall structure is coherent and easy to follow throughout the response.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'citizens,' 'contribution,' 'proportion,' and 'peak population.' There are some spelling errors, such as 'Queen' instead of 'Queens' and 'Bronz' instead of 'Bronx,' which are minor but noticeable. You also use some repetitive phrasing, such as 'number of people' and 'number of citizens.' To reach a higher band, you should aim for more precise collocations and avoid repeating the same nouns. The vocabulary is sufficient to convey the intended meaning clearly, but lacks the sophistication required for higher bands.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as 'the New York' (should be 'New York City'), 'the Manhattan' (should be 'Manhattan'), and 'the year, with the highest' (unnecessary comma). Additionally, 'the population of the New York increased' is grammatically incorrect. While these errors are frequent, they do not impede communication, and the meaning remains clear. To improve, focus on the correct use of articles with proper nouns and ensure subject-verb agreement is consistent throughout the text.

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

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