Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-01

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 three tables illustrates the information about transition of total population of New York city , in Manhattan and the other districts of the city from the year 1800 to 2000. The data is callibrated in percentage .

Overall , New York city experienced massive population growth across the two- century period . While Manhattan originally held the vast majority of the city's inhabitants , its population share consistently dropped over time as the remaining districts grew to dominate the total population .

In 1800, New York City's total population stood at just 79,216 people. By 1900 , this figure had expanded dramatically to 3,437,202 before more than doubling to reach 8,009,185 by the year 2000.

In 1800 , Manhattan accounted for 76% of the city's overall population with 60,515 residents . Although its population expanded significantly to 1,850,093 by 1900, its relative share declined to 54%. By 2000 , Manhatttan 's population felll slightly to 1,538,096 which represented just 19% of the total city population.

Conversely , the other four districts experienced continuous growth in both headcount and proportion surged to 1,587,109 9 {46%} by 1900. This trend accelerated through the twentieth century , reaching 6,471,089 residents and taking up 81% of New york city's total population by 2000.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response successfully covers all parts of the task by addressing the overall population trends of New York City, Manhattan, and the remaining districts from 1800 to 2000. Key features and comparisons are clearly highlighted, such as the dramatic overall population growth and the shifting demographic dominance from Manhattan to the other districts. An appropriate overview is provided. However, the development of ideas leans slightly toward listing statistics rather than fully exploring the implications of the data, which keeps the response at this level. The figures cited, such as 79,216 in 1800 and 8,009,185 in 2000, are accurately extracted from the visual data, and the overview captures the main trajectory well, showing strong features of higher bands while stopping just short of fully extended analysis.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The writing has a clear overall arrangement with a logical progression of ideas from the overview to general totals and then specific district breakdowns. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different parts of the visual data. Cohesive devices are employed reasonably well, with transition phrases like "While Manhattan originally held", "In 1800", and "Conversely" helping to guide the reader through the comparisons. However, cohesion occasionally feels slightly mechanical or formulaic, and referencing could be smoother in places. Overall, the text reads coherently and satisfies the requirements of this band while laying a solid foundation for more flexible cohesive techniques.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common items and descriptive verbs such as 'expanded dramatically', 'doubling', and 'accelerated'. There is an awareness of collocation and style appropriate for an academic report. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and spelling errors—such as 'illustrates' combined with a plural subject 'tables', 'callibrated', 'Manhatttan', and 'felll'—which prevent the vocabulary score from rising higher. Despite these minor slips, communication is never impeded, and the range is sufficient to convey the numerical data accurately.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and subordinate structures effectively, such as in the sentence beginning with 'While Manhattan originally held...'. There are some errors in grammar and punctuation, including an incorrect plural-verb agreement ('The three tables illustrates') and minor typographical errors in the final paragraph involving stray symbols like '9 {46%}'. Nevertheless, these errors are relatively infrequent and rarely impede communication, allowing the reader to follow the complex data comparisons easily, matching the characteristics of this level.

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