Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-25

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 tables present demographic data about population trends in new york city and its five boroughs from the year 1800, 1900 and 2000.

Overall the population of New York city incresed reaching 8 million residents in the year 2000. However across the five different districts of New York we see a decrease in the collective population share of manhattan.

As a whole the number of people residing in new york kept growing from 60 thousand in 1800 to 3.4 million in 1900 and finally 8 million in 2000. Further data splits into two groups one describes demographic trend of manhattan and the other combines the demographic trend of the other four districts. The population manhattan increased from 60 thousand 1.8 million in 1900 and then slighlty decreased to 1.5 million. While the population of the other four districts underwent an exponential growth from just 18 thousand in 1800 to 6.4 million residents in 2000.

While the collective demographic share of manhattan kept falling from 76% to 54% in 1900 and finally it stood at only 19% in 2000. While that of the other four districts went from 24%in 1800 to 81% in 2000.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The student successfully covers all parts of the task by reporting the overall population trends and making relevant comparisons between Manhattan and the other four districts of New York City over the 200-year span. Key data points, such as the total population reaching 8 million in 2000 and the shift in percentage shares, are accurately cited. An overview is present at the beginning, noting the overall increase and the shifting population share of Manhattan. However, the development of ideas could be slightly more polished, and some minor numerical details are omitted or slightly imprecise, placing this response firmly in the Band 6.5 to 7.0 territory.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response is arranged coherently with a logical progression from overall trends to specific district comparisons. Paragraphing is attempted, though the division could be structured more cleanly, as some sentences feel slightly bundled together. Cohesive devices are used, but there are instances of awkward linkage, such as starting consecutive sentences with 'While', leading to sentence fragments ('While that of the other four districts...'). Overall, referencing is mostly clear, but the mechanical use of cohesive elements prevents the text from achieving a higher band.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully employing terms like 'demographic data', 'exponential growth', and 'collective population share'. However, there are notable spelling errors ('incresed', 'manhattan' uncapitalised in places, 'slighlty') and minor word-choice slips (e.g., '60 thousand 1.8 million' missing a preposition). Less common vocabulary is attempted with some success, but frequent small errors in lexical precision and mechanics keep this criterion at a Band 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

There is a mix of simple and complex sentence structures used throughout the response, such as relative clauses and subordinate clauses. However, grammatical accuracy is inconsistent. There are several sentence fragments and dangling clauses, particularly with the repeated use of 'While' at the beginning of sentences without an independent clause attached (e.g., 'While the collective demographic share of manhattan kept falling...'). Punctuation and capitalization are also inconsistent, which occasionally distracts the reader, though communication is not impeded.

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