Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-03
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)
These tables illustrates the variation in the total popluation of New York, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens and Staten Island from 1800 to 2000.
Overall, popluation surged in New york and all the districts. Manhattan's percentage fell from the past desipte increase in the population.
New York's population had massive jump, reaching 8 millions 2000 from just under 80 thousand in 1800. Manhattan also have upward trend but reaching 1.5 million people in 2000 from around 60 thousand in 1800, but's it's overall population percentage fell from 76% to 19% in the same time.
Other districts depicts the same trend, there population surged from 18,701 in 1800 to around 6.4 millions by 2000. Their percenatge in total population climbed sharply from mere 24% in 1800 to whopping 81% by 2000. Their combined population is just 1.6 million shy of the New York's total population.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 6.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0
The response addresses all parts of the task by reporting the main features and making relevant comparisons across the provided tables. However, the word count requirement is not met, as the text falls slightly short of the minimum 150 words. While the overview outlines the general upward trends and Manhattan's shifting proportion, some details are slightly under-developed, such as omitting specific decade milestones. Data is generally used accurately to support the main points, such as citing the overall growth from 79,216 to over 8 million and contrasting Manhattan's declining percentage with the surge in other districts, which places this aspect of the writing at the current band level.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5
The response has a coherent overall arrangement with a clear attempt at paragraphing, separating the introduction, overview, and body paragraphs for Manhattan and the other districts. Information is logically sequenced, moving from the citywide total to specific geographic areas. Cohesive devices are used adequately, such as 'Overall', 'In addition', and pronouns like 'Their', though some referencing is slightly mechanical or repetitive ('Other districts depicts the same trend, there population...'). The progression is generally clear, meeting the requirements of the lower band fully while showing partial elements of the higher band through structured paragraph divisions and comparative markers.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, attempting some less common items such as 'surged', 'upward trend', and 'whopping'. However, there are notable spelling errors ('popluation', 'desipte', 'percenatge') and minor word-choice inaccuracies, such as 'there population' instead of 'their population' and 'New York's population had massive jump' missing an article. These errors do not impede communication, but they restrict the lexical score to this level. To reach a higher band, the student needs to demonstrate greater control over spelling, word forms, and precise collocation.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The response features a mix of simple and some complex sentence forms, such as 'Manhattan also have upward trend but reaching 1.5 million people in 2000 from around 60 thousand in 1800, but's it's overall population percentage fell...'. There are several grammatical errors and punctuation slips, including subject-verb agreement issues ('Manhattan also have', 'there population'), missing prepositions, and incorrect contracted forms ('but's it's'). These errors occur frequently enough across the text to cause occasional strain for the reader, fitting the description of a mix of structures with persistent mistakes.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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