Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-18

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 table given at the first demonstrates the data about population of New York. Next two tables depicts changes in the population of the five districts of the city.

Overall, the lowest number of people lived in the city was in 1800 while the era of 2000 experienced all time high population count. The highest number of individuals lived in Manhattan more than all other districts combined in 1900.

The first table illustrates that the total population surged from 79,216 to 3,437,202 in first hundred years then reached at 8,009,185 in 2000.

The second table shows that Manhattan shared 76 percent of total population in 1800. Although the total population increased from 60,515 to 1,850,093 yet the district constituted only 54 percent of total population in 1900.

The third table depicts that all the four districts made up 24 percent of the total population with 18,701 individuals count, then it surged to 1,587,109 in 1900. 81 percent of total population lived in the four districts of New York city in 2000.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response covers all parts of the task by reporting the main features of the population changes in New York City and its districts across the three given years. The overview correctly identifies the lowest population in 1800 and the peak in 2000, along with Manhattan's dominance in 1900. Key data points, such as the total figures and percentages for Manhattan and the other districts, are accurately selected and reported. However, the progression could be slightly better integrated in terms of overall synthesis, but the response satisfies all core requirements of Task 1 for a Band 6.5 or 7.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The response is logically organised into clear paragraphs, starting with an introduction, followed by an overview, and then separate paragraphs for each table. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Overall', 'The first table illustrates', and 'Although', but some transitions feel slightly formulaic or mechanical (e.g., repeating 'The first table', 'The second table', 'The third table'). Paragraphing is appropriate, and there is a clear overall progression from general trends to specific table details, though referencing between the data sets could be smoother.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary used is generally adequate for the task, with appropriate use of words like 'surged', 'population count', 'constituted', and 'percentage'. However, there are some awkward word choices and phrasing, such as 'demonstrates the data about population' instead of 'shows data on the population', and 'individuals count' instead of 'population' or 'number of people'. Attempted less common vocabulary is mostly successful, but minor lexical inaccuracies prevent a higher score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The student uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, including subordinate clauses introduced by 'while', 'although', and 'then'. There are several grammatical errors and awkward prepositions, such as 'demonstrates the data about population of New York' (missing article), 'lived in the city was in 1800' (tense/structure issue), and 'reached at 8,009,185' (incorrect preposition 'at'). Despite these errors, meaning is generally clear and communication is not impeded.

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

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