Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-08-26
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 information tables below illustrate differences in the population of the New York City alongside comparing the division of this population in different districts of the city ( Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, Staten Island ) for years 1800 to 2000.
Overall, the population of the city has increased, Manhattan lost a big number of people during this period whereas, other districts such as ( Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, Staten Island ) saw a significant rise in their citizens.
In the year 1800 the total population of the the city was 79,216 out of which 76 percent resided in Manhattan while remaining 24 percent were in other four districts of the city. In the year 1900 total number of inhabitants increased to 3,437,202. But only 54 percent resided in Manhattan while 46 percent lived in remaining four districts. By the year 2000 the number of citizens of the city increased to 8,009,185 but the Manhattan dropped it's percentage to 19 percent only while 81 percent of community was living in the remaining four districts of the city.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 6.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5
The response covers the main features of the data well, identifying the overall population growth and the significant shift in population distribution from Manhattan to the other four districts. You successfully selected key data points from 1800, 1900, and 2000 to illustrate these trends. However, the report could be improved by providing more specific comparisons between the individual districts (e.g., noting that Brooklyn or Queens grew significantly) rather than grouping them collectively as 'the remaining four districts' throughout the entire analysis. This would provide a more comprehensive overview of the data provided in the tables.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The response is logically organized with a clear introduction, an overview, and a body paragraph. The progression of ideas is easy to follow. You use some cohesive devices, such as 'whereas' and 'by the year', to link information. However, the use of parentheses for listing districts is slightly informal and mechanical. To reach a higher band, try to integrate these lists more naturally into your sentences using commas or relative clauses. Additionally, ensure that referencing is precise; for example, 'the remaining four districts' is used repeatedly, which could be varied to improve the flow of the text.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'resided', 'inhabitants', and 'significant rise'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and phrasing, such as 'Manhattan lost a big number of people' (which is slightly imprecise given the context of population percentage shifts) and 'Manhattan dropped it's percentage'. The use of 'big' is too informal for an academic report. Expanding your vocabulary to include more precise descriptors for trends and statistical changes would enhance the quality of your writing.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are several grammatical errors, such as the misuse of articles ('the the city'), unnecessary punctuation (the use of parentheses), and a possessive error ('it's' instead of 'its'). There are also minor issues with preposition usage and sentence construction. To improve, focus on proofreading for basic errors like subject-verb agreement and apostrophe usage. Increasing the variety of complex sentence structures while maintaining accuracy would help you achieve a higher band score.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.