Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-06

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 below depict changes in the total population of New York City from the year 1800 to 2000. Following by the second and third tables reflect changes in the population of five different districts of the city Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, Staten Island during the same period.

Overall, It is visible that New York City shows enormous growth in its total population across the 200 year period, Initially Manhattan shows a sginificant growth by the end of year 2000,, the other four districts came to heavily dominate the city's demographics.

Kicking off with New York City, it is apparent that the amount of population was at 79,216 in the year 1800, subsequently it boosted to 3,437,202 after hundread years. Eventually, it peaked in the year 2000 with doubling the value to 8,009,185 in the end.

It can be largely attributed that, Manhattan started with approximately 60,515 with a portion of 76% of total population. Consequently, the ratio of population started reflecting a decline to 19% share in the total population by the year 2000. In contrast,the other four districts started with only 18,701 people (24%) in 1800, but their numbers exploded to 1,587,109 (46%) in 1900 and ultimately skyrocketed to 6,471,089 (81%) by 2000.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

The response successfully covers all parts of the task by reporting the main features and making relevant comparisons across the data provided. A clear overview is presented in the second paragraph, highlighting the overall population growth and the demographic shift away from Manhattan. Key figures from the tables are selected accurately, such as the initial and final population totals and the changing percentages for Manhattan and the other four districts. While the reporting is generally clear, some minor details could have been further extended or contrasted to fully push into higher descriptors, resulting in a solid, competent performance that addresses the prompt appropriately without copying excessive language from the rubric.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response is organized into logical paragraphs, with a clear introduction, an overview, and distinct body paragraphs dealing with the citywide totals and district breakdowns respectively. Progression is generally logical, moving smoothly from overall trends to specific figures. Cohesive devices such as 'In contrast' and 'subsequently' are used to connect ideas, though some transitional phrases feel slightly mechanical or awkward, such as 'Kicking off with New York City'. Paragraphing is handled sufficiently, contributing to an overall coherent arrangement, though transitioning between sentences can occasionally feel a bit disjointed.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, successfully conveying the trends with terms like 'enormous growth', 'demographics', 'boosted', and 'skyrocketed'. There are attempts to use less common vocabulary and precise reporting language, though some word choices and collocations feel slightly unnatural or awkward, such as 'the amount of population was at' instead of 'the population stood at'. Spelling is generally accurate, but minor word-choice errors persist and minor slips in lexical control prevent the response from achieving a higher rating.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The writer demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and comparative structures. However, there are noticeable grammatical errors and awkward phrasing throughout the text, including tense and verb-form issues like 'The first table below depict' and 'Following by the second and third tables reflect'. Punctuation errors also appear, such as the double comma usage '2000,,'. While these errors do not seriously impede overall communication, they occur with enough frequency to show limited control over complex structures, placing the grammar firmly at this level.

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