Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-08-28
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 first table illustrates the transformation of total population of New York city between 1800 and 2000, while the second and third table shows the variations in population of five districts of city during the same period.
Overall, it can be seen that the population has undergone significant increase during the period, and that the percentage of the total population of Manhattan has decreased gradually compared to that of the other districts where the population has undergone corresponding increase.
To begin with, the population of the newyork city during the year 1800 was around 79,216, which increased to about 8009,185 by the year 2000. The population of the Manhattan city during the same year was around 60,515 which contributed to 76% of the total population which then gradually decreased to 19% which contributed to around 1,538,096 of the total population in the year 2000.
The percentage of population of the other cities has observed a significant increase which was 18,701 which is approximately 24% of the total population. Furthermore it can be seen that the percentage has increased to 81% in the year 2000 which was about 6,471,089 of the total population.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 6.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 6.0 |
| Overall | 6.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0
The response covers the main trends in the data, identifying the overall population growth and the shift in distribution between Manhattan and the other districts. However, the analysis is somewhat limited. While you mention the total population and the shift in percentages, you do not provide specific comparisons for the other four districts (Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, Staten Island) individually, which were clearly presented in the tables. The report would be more comprehensive if it highlighted the specific growth of these districts rather than grouping them all as 'other cities'. The overview is clear, but the supporting details could be more granular to fully satisfy the requirements of a Task 1 response.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The essay is logically organized into an introduction, an overview, and two body paragraphs. Cohesive devices such as 'To begin with', 'Furthermore', and 'while' are used to link ideas. However, the progression of information is occasionally mechanical. For instance, the transition between the total population data and the specific district data could be smoother. Paragraphing is used appropriately, but the internal structure of the body paragraphs could be improved by grouping data more effectively to avoid repetitive sentence structures. Overall, the information is easy to follow, but the use of cohesive devices lacks the flexibility required for a higher band.
Lexical Resource — Band 6.0
You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'transformation', 'variations', and 'contributed to'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation. For example, referring to the districts as 'other cities' is imprecise, as the prompt identifies them as districts of New York City. Additionally, 'observed a significant increase' is slightly awkward in this context. To reach a higher band, you should aim for more precise terminology related to data reporting, such as 'accounted for', 'experienced a surge', or 'proportionally'.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0
The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as 'the second and third table shows' (subject-verb agreement), 'the newyork city' (capitalization and article usage), and 'the population of the Manhattan city' (unnecessary article/word choice). While these errors do not impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. You should focus on proofreading for subject-verb agreement and consistent capitalization of proper nouns. The use of complex structures is attempted, but accuracy remains inconsistent.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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