Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-28

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 6.5)

The table chart shows the changes in the total population of New York City from 1800 to 2000. The section and third tables shows changes in the population of the five districts of the city (Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, Staten Island) over the same period.

Overall, New York city's population grow continuously, while the demographic distribution shifted dramaticallyfrom Manhattan dominating to other four districtshousing the vast majority of residents.

In 1800, New York city had 79,216 inhabibats. Manahattan dominated with 60,515 people (76%), while the remaining destricts collectively held 18,701 (24%).

In 1900, Manhattan's population surged to 1,850,093, yet it percentagedropped to 54%. Meanwhile, the other four districts grew significantly to 1,587,109 people, making up 46% of the city total.

By 2000, Manahattan's count decreased to 1,538,096, representing only 19%. In contrast, the outer districts experienced substaintal growth, reaching 6,471,089 residents and accounting for 81% of the total population.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The student addresses all parts of the prompt successfully by reporting the main features, selecting appropriate data points, and making relevant comparisons across the years 1800, 1900, and 2000. An overview is present, noting the overall population growth and the dramatic demographic shift from Manhattan to the outer districts. However, there is a minor penalty applied here because the response falls short of the 150-word minimum requirement, containing only 149 words. Despite this slight length deficit, the content fully covers the required data without unnecessary repetition.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The response is logically organised and easy to follow. Information is grouped chronologically by year, which provides a clear progression throughout the text. Paragraphing is used appropriately, with an introduction, an overview, and separate body paragraphs for each time period (1800, 1900, and 2000). Cohesive devices such as 'Meanwhile', 'By 2000', and 'In contrast' are used effectively to signal shifts in time and comparisons between regions, though occasional mechanical referencing exists, such as 'The section and third tables' in the introduction.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The student demonstrates a sufficient range of vocabulary for the task, successfully using terms like 'demographic distribution', 'collectively held', and 'substaintal growth'. However, there are several noticeable spelling errors and typos throughout the text, such as 'inhabibats', 'Manahattan', 'destricts', and 'substaintal'. Furthermore, 'percentagedropped' combines words incorrectly. Despite these lexical and orthographical inaccuracies, the vocabulary is adequate to convey the intended meaning without impeding communication, placing this securely in the Band 6 range.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, incorporating subordinate clauses and participial phrases successfully (e.g., 'while the demographic distribution shifted dramatically from Manhattan dominating to other four districts housing the vast majority of residents'). Grammatical control is generally decent, but there are minor errors such as subject-verb agreement issues ('The section and third tables shows') and missing articles ('other four districtshousing'). Overall, the grammar does not impede communication, and the majority of sentences are clear and comprehensible.

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

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