Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-30

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 illustrate the changes in population of the New York city in contrast of its district Manhattan and than in comparison to other districts Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens and Staten Island.

Overall, the table show an increase in the populations of the city itself and the districts. The table tell us about the data for three centuries, for example the first is from year 1800, than from the year 1900, and than finally year 2000.

Initially the population for the New York city in the year 1800 was approximately 79 thousand, whereas Manhattan comprised of its 76 percent of population which was around 60 thousand, and in likeness to the other districts the it consisted of the city's 24 percent population which is around 19 thousand. Following the year 1900, the population for the New York city was approximately 3.4 million, whereas Manhattan comprised of its 54 percent of population which was around 1.85 million, and in likeness to the other districts the it consisted of the city's 46 percent population which is around 1.58 million. Finally for the year 2000, the population for the New York city was approximately 8 million, whereas Manhattan comprised of its 19 percent of population which was around 1.5 million, and in likeness to the other districts the it consisted of the city's 81 percent population which is around 6.47 million.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The student successfully covers all parts of the task by reporting the main population figures for New York City as a whole, as well as contrasting Manhattan with the other districts across the three designated years (1800, 1900, and 2000). The data points selected are accurate and well-grounded in the visual prompts, noting specific figures such as 79,216 for the overall population in 1800 and tracing the shifting percentages between Manhattan and the other combined districts over the two-century span. An overview is present at the beginning of the second paragraph, highlighting the general upward trend in populations. The response fully satisfies the requirements of Task 1 without significant omissions.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response is organized into a logical progression, starting with an introductory paraphrase, moving to an overall trend summary, and concluding with a detailed chronological breakdown of the three years. Paragraphing is appropriately handled to group ideas. However, cohesion relies heavily on repetitive sentence frames, particularly phrases like 'whereas Manhattan comprised of its... and in likeness to the other districts the it consisted of...' used in every single clause of the final paragraph. While cohesive devices are present, this mechanical repetition and occasional awkward referencing ('the it') prevent the essay from achieving a higher band in this category.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for the task, successfully utilizing terms such as 'illustrate', 'approximately', 'comprised', and 'percentage'. However, there are notable lexical slips, awkward collocations, and repetitive phrasing, such as 'in contrast of', 'in likeness to', and repeating 'comprised of its' multiple times. While these errors do not impede overall communication because the data remains clear, the lack of flexibility and precision in less common lexical items keeps the score at the 6.0 level.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The essay displays a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, attempting multi-clause sentences with relative clauses and subordinating conjunctions ('whereas', 'where'). However, grammatical control is inconsistent. There are several noticeable errors, including redundant prepositions and articles (e.g., 'changes in population of the New York city', 'in contrast of its district', 'the table show'), as well as awkward syntactic doubling ('the it consisted of'). Despite these recurring errors, they rarely impede communication, allowing the reader to follow the data accurately.

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