Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)
The first table displays New York City's population from 1800 to 2000. The second and third tables display the population of five districts of the city (Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, Staten Island) over the same timeline.
Overall, the population of all the cities has increased from 1800 to 2000. Though the percentage of total population has decreased in Manhattan, the other four districts' percentage of total population have increased over this period.
In New York City, the total population rose from 79,216 to 8,009,185 during these years. In Manhattan, it showed some fluctuations also. Total population in this city increased from 1800 to 1900 which is around 60 thousand to 1.8 million approximately, whereas it decreased to around 1.5 million in 2000. Conversely, total population of other districts (Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, Staten Island) rose from 18,701 in 1800 to around 6.4 million people in 2000.
Although the total population rose in these 200 years, the percentage of total population went down in Manhattan from 76% to one-fifth. Meanwhile, the share of the population living in other districts has gradually increased from almost a quarter to 81% in these years.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 7.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 6.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 6.0 |
| Overall | 6.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5
The response covers all parts of the task well. You have successfully identified the main trends, such as the overall population growth and the shift in the proportion of residents living in Manhattan versus the other districts. The data is accurately reported, and the comparison between the two time periods is clear. To reach a higher band, ensure that you provide more specific data points for the intermediate years (e.g., 1900) to fully support the trends described, rather than just focusing on the start and end points. Overall, the information is well-selected and relevant to the prompt.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0
The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, overview, and body paragraphs. The progression of ideas is smooth, and you use cohesive devices such as 'Conversely', 'Although', and 'Meanwhile' effectively to link sentences and ideas. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the general trends from the specific data analysis. The referencing is generally clear, though the flow could be slightly improved by ensuring that the transition between the total population figures and the percentage shifts is more seamless. Overall, the structure is coherent and easy to follow.
Lexical Resource — Band 6.0
You demonstrate a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey the information clearly. Phrases like 'showed some fluctuations', 'proportion of total population', and 'gradually increased' are used accurately. However, the vocabulary is somewhat repetitive, particularly the use of 'total population' and 'increased'. To improve, try to incorporate more varied synonyms such as 'surged', 'plummeted', 'demographic distribution', or 'accounted for'. While the current range is adequate for the task, introducing more precise academic collocations would elevate the response to a higher band.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0
The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are some minor grammatical inaccuracies, such as 'the other four districts' percentage of total population have increased' (subject-verb agreement error: 'percentage' is the subject, so it should be 'has increased'). Additionally, 'which is around 60 thousand to 1.8 million approximately' is slightly awkward in phrasing. Despite these slips, the meaning is never obscured, and the punctuation is generally correct. To achieve a higher score, aim for more complex sentence structures with fewer minor errors.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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