Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-07
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 changes in the total population of all five districts of New york city over the three centuries from 1800 to 2000. The second and third table describe the variation in the population of the five districts of the city namely Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens and Staten Island over the same time period.
Overall, the population in New York city has increased enormously from 1800 to 2000. In 1800, the larger portion of total population was brought by the Manhattan while the other districts contributes smallest to the total population. However, it was reversed by 2000 where largest contribution was of the other districts while Manhattan demonstrated the smallest portion of total population.
In 1800, the overall total population of the New York city was 79,216, where Manhattan contributed the largest proportion of 76% as compared to just 24% by other districts. In 1900, the overall population of New York city jumped to 3,437,202 with almost equaivalent contributions from both Manhattan and other districts of 54% and 46% respectively.
In 2000, there was a large increase in overall population of New York being at 8,009,185 in numbers but during this century, the contribution from Manhattan and other districts got reversed, 81% was contributed by other districts and just 19% was contributed by Manhattan.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 6.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0
The response covers the main features of the data well, identifying the significant population growth and the shift in distribution between Manhattan and the other districts. The overview is clear and highlights the key trend. However, the response focuses almost exclusively on the comparison between 'Manhattan' and 'other districts', failing to mention the individual data for the five specific districts mentioned in the prompt. While the prompt asks to summarise the information, ignoring the specific district data limits the depth of the analysis. The figures are accurately reported, and the comparison is logically structured.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5
The essay is logically organised into clear paragraphs, with an introduction, an overview, and two body paragraphs. The progression of ideas is easy to follow. Cohesive devices such as 'In 1800', 'However', and 'In 2000' are used effectively to guide the reader through the chronological data. There is some minor awkwardness in the use of referencing, such as 'it was reversed by 2000', but the overall structure is coherent and the paragraphing is appropriate for the task.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, with some attempts at more precise language like 'enormously', 'demonstrated', and 'proportion'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'larger portion of total population was brought by the Manhattan' and 'other districts contributes smallest'. These errors do not impede communication but show a lack of flexibility. The range is sufficient to convey the main points, but more sophisticated vocabulary related to data trends (e.g., 'surpassed', 'accounted for', 'dramatic shift') would improve the score.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, particularly with articles ('the Manhattan', 'the New York city') and subject-verb agreement ('other districts contributes'). Punctuation is generally functional, though there are minor issues with spacing and capitalization (e.g., 'New york city'). While these errors are noticeable, they do not prevent the reader from understanding the information. A wider range of error-free complex structures would be required for a higher band score.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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