Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-04

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 first table gives information on the varying number of total popluation of New York City during the time period from 1800 to 2000. Furthermore, the succeeding tables provide details on the shifting population of the 5 districts of the city including Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, Staten Island, during the same period.

Overall, the total population of New York City shows a sharp incline from 1800 to 2000. Manhattan faced a decline in population over the last millennium. While the population of other districts increased, resulting in a total population of a little more than 8 million people.

The total number of people living in New York during the 1800 were around 80000. By the end of 19th century, the total population of New York City was about 3.4 million people, showing a sharp incline in the population. in 2000, this same population drasticsally reached to approximately 8 million people, which is more than double of what it was in the 1900.

Along with this, the popluation of individual districts show that the percentage of total population of Mahattan decreased over the two milennia. But it did not impact the overall population growth rate. This is because the population of other districts kept increasing. In 1800s, the combined population of districts, except Manhattan was, only about 18000. However, in 2000, the population sky-rocketed to about 6.4 milllion people, sharply increasing from 24% to 81 percent in just 200 years.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response successfully covers all parts of the task by providing a clear overview and reporting the main features of both the total population table and the district breakdown tables. You accurately identify the sharp upward trend in New York City's overall population from 1800 to 2000, as well as the shifting distribution between Manhattan and the other districts. However, some ideas are slightly under-developed or contain minor inaccuracies, such as stating that Manhattan faced a decline in population 'over the last millennium' rather than the two-century span of the data, and misreading the 1800 total population figure as 'around 80000' instead of 79,216. To reach a higher band, ensure greater precision in reading data points and provide fully supported extensions for all observed trends.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

Your response demonstrates a coherent overall arrangement with a clear logical progression from the total population figures down to the district-level data. You make adequate use of paragraphing, grouping the introduction, overview, and body details into distinct sections. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical or slightly faulty, relying on basic transitions like 'Furthermore' and 'Along with this' rather than more sophisticated referencing. For instance, the transition between paragraphs could flow more naturally to connect the city-wide overview with the specific district comparisons. To improve cohesion further, try to vary your cohesive devices and ensure that pronoun referencing and substitution link ideas smoothly without repetitive phrasing.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common lexical items such as 'sky-rocketed', 'drastically', and 'distribution' (though the latter was implied rather than used). There are, nevertheless, a few spelling and word-choice errors that slightly impact precision, such as 'popluation' (repeatedly misspelled) and 'drasticsally'. Expressions like 'faced a decline in population over the last millennium' also show a slight lapse in precise time framing. To achieve a higher score, focus on eliminating spelling errors and incorporating a wider selection of precise, natural academic collocations to describe statistical trends.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

Your writing displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating attempts at relative clauses and comparative structures. However, there are noticeable grammatical errors and awkward phrasing that place this response at the current level. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues, such as 'The total number of people living in New York during the 1800 were around 80000' (where 'were' should be 'was'), and preposition or article slips like 'in 1800s' instead of 'in the 1800s'. Punctuation and sentence boundary errors also occur, such as fragmenting sentences or omitting commas where necessary. To improve your grammar score, work on subject-verb agreement, article usage, and ensure complex sentence structures are constructed accurately.

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