Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-02

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 illustration gives information about the New York city overall population changes and also give about the changes of different five districts of the city from 1800 to 2000. Overall, the four district of this city had contributed the grow of the total population of the New York City.

It is quite evident from the table that the population of all five district of New York City had been growing from 1800 to 2000. The total in the 18th century the had 79,216 and this population had grown and reached [redacted phone] in the 20th century. During the same period in the district of Manhattan the percentage of total population had fall in the start of 18th century the percentage had 76% after the coming century the ratio had decreased and reached 19% in the year of 2000.

Meanwhile, the third table gives information about the remaining four districts. The total percentage of the Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens and Staten Island had significantly grow and at the end of 20th century the total population of this districts had 81% and this percentage had started from 24% in the year of 1800.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response satisfies the requirements for the mid-band level by presenting an overview of the main trends and reporting key data from the tables. You successfully outline the overall growth in New York City's population from 1800 to 2000 and contrast the declining percentage in Manhattan with the rising share in the other districts. However, some parts of the task are developed more fully than others; for instance, the specific population figures are stated without fully contextualising the extent of the growth across individual districts over the two-century span. To reach a higher level, you should provide a more thorough and precise comparison of all data points, ensuring that every key feature—such as the exact scale of growth in the remaining districts—is fully supported and clearly integrated into a cohesive overview.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

Your writing displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear attempt to structure information into logical paragraphs, moving from an introductory overview to specific data points. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical or faulty. For example, transitional phrases like 'Meanwhile, the third table gives information' are somewhat formulaic, and referencing is not always clear, as seen in phrases like 'the total in the 18th century the had'. To improve your score in this area, you need to use a wider range of cohesive devices more naturally and ensure that your sentences flow smoothly from one idea to the next without abrupt transitions. Better paragraphing and clearer pronoun referencing will also enhance the logical progression of your essay.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate vocabulary range for the task, successfully attempting less-common lexical items such as 'percentage', 'district', and 'significantly'. However, there are noticeable errors in word choice, form, and collocation that prevent you from achieving a higher band. Phrases like 'had contributed the grow' (instead of 'growth') and 'had fall' (instead of 'fallen') illustrate issues with word formation. Furthermore, referencing the centuries inaccurately ('in the 18th century the had 79,216' instead of the year 1800) shows a limitation in precision. To improve your lexical score, you should focus on accurate word forms, expand your repertoire of precise reporting verbs, and check your spelling and collocations carefully before finalising your essay.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

Your response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but it is hindered by frequent grammatical errors. You attempt complex structures, but many contain mistakes in tense usage, verb forms, and articles, such as 'the population of all five district of New York City had been growing' and 'the total population of this districts had 81%'. There are also issues with pluralisation ('district' instead of 'districts') and awkward auxiliary verb constructions. While these errors rarely impede overall communication, they occur with enough frequency to keep your grammar score at this level. To advance, you must work on mastering basic tense consistency, subject-verb agreement, and accurate article usage while producing a higher proportion of error-free complex sentences.

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

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