Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)
The tables illustrates the numbers of the people residing in the New York while providing details of the people living in Manhattan and other districts which are Brooklyn, Bronx, Queen, Staten Island.
Overall, New York's population increased dramatically where Manhattan holds the highest number of population over the period from 1800 to 1900, whereas, by the period of 2000, other districts altogether accounted for most number of people residing in it.
Between 1800 to 1900, New York's residents had witnessed a considerable growth, increasing more than four times from 79216 to 3,437,202, where manhattan had the most residents and other districts contributed less, although the rate of change showed negative results for the former, declined from 76% to 54% and vice versa for the later, increased from 24% to 46%.
Between 1900 to 2000, New York's rate of upward change had declined susbstantially, resulted to only 8,009,185. Manhattan's population had a significant drop from 54% to 19%. By Contrast, other district's population almost doubled, from 46% to 81%.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 6.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5
The student successfully addresses all parts of the task by reporting the main features of New York City's total population alongside the breakdown for Manhattan and the other districts across the years 1800, 1900, and 2000. An overview is present, highlighting the dramatic overall growth and the shifting dominance of population from Manhattan to the other districts. Key data points are correctly cited, such as the total population figures and the percentage shifts (e.g., Manhattan dropping from 76% to 19%). The response covers all required aspects well without omitting critical information, earning a solid Band 7.0 for Task Achievement.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0
The response is organized logically into four paragraphs, including an introduction, an overview, and two body paragraphs detailing the specific time periods. Cohesive devices such as 'Overall', 'Between 1800 to 1900', and 'By Contrast' are used to guide the reader through the data. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different temporal shifts. However, some minor mechanical errors in cohesion and referencing slightly limit fluidity, keeping the score at Band 6.5.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate and generally appropriate range of vocabulary for task description, using terms like 'dramatic', 'considerable growth', 'proportion', and 'substantially'. There are some minor lexical inaccuracies and awkward phrasings, such as 'where manhattan had the most residents' and 'rate of upward change had declined susbstantially, resulted to only', along with a spelling slip ('susbstantially'). Less common vocabulary is attempted with reasonable success, supporting a Band 6.0 rating.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
A mix of simple and complex sentence structures is used throughout the text, including subordinate clauses and comparative constructions. While many sentences are clear and communicate the intended meaning effectively, there are noticeable grammatical errors and awkward prepositional uses, such as 'The tables illustrates', 'residing in the New York', 'Brooklyn, Bronx, Queen', and 'resulted to only'. These errors do not impede overall communication, fitting the descriptor for Band 6.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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