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 first table illustrates how the total population of New York City changed from 1800 to 2000, while the second and the third tables describe population changes in Manhattan and other districts of New York over the same period.
Overall, the population of New York City increased significantly in all five districts between 1800 and 2000. The percentage of total population in Manhattan dropped in comparison with other districts where it rose significantly.
The number of people in all the five districts of New York grew significantly from 79,216 people in 1800 to 8,009,185 people in 2000. Initially, the percentage population of Manhattan city was higher in 1800 which was more than three quarters of total population and decreased over the centuries to 19% in the year 2000.
The percentage of total population in other districts such as Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens and Staten Island increased over the centuries from just one quarter of total population with 18,701 people in 1800 to 81% with 6,471,089 people living in these districts in the year 2000.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 7.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 6.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 6.5 |
| Overall | 6.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0
The response covers all parts of the task well, providing a clear overview and effectively reporting the main features and comparisons. The data cited from the tables—such as the total population growth from 79,216 in 1800 to 8,009,185 in 2000, and the shift in proportions between Manhattan and the other districts—is accurate and well-selected. The overview clearly highlights the contrasting trends between Manhattan and the other four districts. To push into higher bands, the response could extend the comparisons slightly further by detailing specific milestones or individual district figures rather than grouping Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island collectively throughout the entire body.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5
The response demonstrates a clear overall arrangement with a logical progression of information from the introduction to the overview and detailed body paragraphs. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different aspects of the visual data. Cohesive devices are generally well managed, with appropriate introductory phrases like 'Overall' and sequential references such as 'Initially' and 'over the centuries'. However, cohesion occasionally feels a bit mechanical, and referencing between sentences could be smoother to fully achieve a higher band level.
Lexical Resource: Band 6.0
The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating terms such as 'illustrates', 'significantly', 'proportion', and 'decreased'. There are also appropriate attempts at less common lexical items when describing demographic shifts. However, there are minor inaccuracies and repetitive phrasing, such as repeating 'over the centuries' multiple times and using 'percentage population' instead of 'population percentage'. These minor word-choice and collocation errors do not impede communication, placing the response firmly at this level.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5
The response employs a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating good control over basic structures and accurate use of past and present tenses. Complex structures are attempted with reasonable success, as seen in sentences like 'The first table illustrates how the total population of New York City changed...'. There are some minor grammatical slips, such as unnecessary articles or preposition choices within complex noun phrases, but these errors are infrequent and rarely impede communication, reflecting solid control across the text.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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