Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-09

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 given table illustrates information about changes in the population of New York city from 1800 to 2000 whereas, second and third table depicts percentage of total population of the five disctricts, over the same period.

Overall, the table showed a dramatic increase in the population of the New York city however, the population of the district Manhattan had largest percentage of population initially but, declined towards the lowest at the end of the period. On the other hand remaining districts( Brooklyn, Bronox, Queen and Staten Island) showed a dramatic increse in their population over the same period.

Regarding the New York city, the population in 1800 was lowest as 79,216, which increased significantly to 3,437,202 and 9,009,85 in 1900 and 2000 respectively. Next is the district Manhattan, it had lowest figure of population in 1800 as 76%, which dropped sharply to 54% in 1900 and 19% in 2000.

Considering the other districts (Brooklyn, Bronx, Queen and Staten Island), they had initially a lower percentage of population as 24% in year 1800, however it rose sharply to 46% and 81% over the period 1900 and 2000.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

You have successfully identified the main trends and provided relevant data to support your points. You covered the overall population growth and the shift in percentage distribution between Manhattan and the other districts. However, the data reporting is slightly inaccurate; for instance, you wrote '9,009,85' for the year 2000, which is a transcription error of the actual figure (8,008,278). Additionally, while you mention the 'other districts', grouping them all together as a single percentage is a valid summary strategy, but you could have highlighted the specific growth of Brooklyn or Queens to provide a more comprehensive overview of the data provided in the tables.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is logically organized into an introduction, an overview, and two body paragraphs. You use some cohesive devices such as 'On the other hand' and 'Regarding', which help the flow. However, the use of punctuation is occasionally awkward, such as the comma placement in 'whereas, second and third table'. Furthermore, the transition between the overview and the body paragraphs could be smoother. The referencing is generally clear, but the mechanical nature of some transitions prevents the essay from reaching a higher band in this criterion.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'dramatic increase', 'declined', and 'dropped sharply'. However, there are several spelling errors, such as 'disctricts', 'Bronox', and 'increse'. These errors are noticeable but do not impede communication. To improve, try to incorporate more precise academic collocations rather than relying on simple intensifiers like 'dramatic'. The vocabulary is sufficient to convey the main features of the data, but lacks the sophistication required for a higher band score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical slips throughout the text, such as missing articles ('the second and third table', 'the district Manhattan') and subject-verb agreement issues ('the table showed... however, the population... had'). While these errors are frequent, they do not prevent the reader from understanding the information. To improve, focus on consistent article usage and ensuring that your sentence structures are punctuated correctly, particularly when using conjunctions like 'whereas' or 'however'.

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

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