Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-26
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 three tables illustrates the population of New York City and how it was distributed among its five districts between 1800 and 2000.
Overall, the total no of population of New York City saw enormous increase over the period. While Manhattan was most popular district in 1800 accounting for more than three-quater of population,its share declined dramatically over the period.In contrast tha combined population of other four districts, namely Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens and Staten Island, grew subatantially and became the dominat part of the city.
In 1800, New York City had a small amount of population of 79,216.Manhattan alone had 60,515 residents, which represented 76% of the total.The other four districts togather had only 18701 people making upto 24% of the population.
In 1900, the population of the city had rose to 3,437,202 while Manhattan population reached its peaked at [redacted phone],although its percentage fell to 54%. Mean while the population of four districts togather grew enormously to [redacted phone],accounting for 46% of the total.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 6.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0
The student covers the main features and trends across the provided tables, presenting a clear overview of the dramatic population growth in New York City and the shifting distribution from Manhattan to the other four districts. Key data points such as the initial and final populations and percentages are accurately cited, for instance noting that Manhattan accounted for 76% in 1800 before dropping to 19% in 2000. However, the response stops abruptly in the middle of describing 1900 and does not include the data for the year 2000 in the body paragraphs, meaning some parts of the task remain under-developed or omitted.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0
The response has a clear overall progression, starting with a suitable introductory sentence and a well-formulated overview paragraph. Cohesive devices such as 'While', 'In contrast', and 'Mean while' are utilised to connect ideas effectively, although paragraphing is slightly disrupted by the incomplete structure towards the end. Referencing is generally clear, and the logical organisation helps the reader follow the main comparisons between Manhattan and the outer districts, meeting the requirements for a coherent, logical arrangement.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating terms such as 'distributed', 'enormous increase', and 'dramatically'. However, there are several spelling and word-choice errors, including 'illustrates' (subject-verb agreement with 'tables'), 'no' instead of 'number', 'three-quater', 'tha', 'subatantially', 'dominat', 'togather', 'had rose' (incorrect past perfect/tense form), and 'peaked'. These lexical and mechanical errors occasionally distract from the precision of the report.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as concessive clauses ('While Manhattan was most popular district...'). Grammatical control is mixed; while some sentences are accurate, there are recurring errors in tense selection ('had rose' instead of 'rose'), missing articles ('most popular district', 'four districts'), and punctuation or spacing issues around numbers and commas. These errors do not impede overall communication but prevent the student from achieving a higher band.
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