Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)

The presented tables show the changes in overall population of New York, Manhattan and other districts during the period of 1800 and 2000.

Overall, the highly populated city remained New York with a population of 79,216 in 1800 and reached 8009,185 in 2000. However, the decrease in people of Manhattan in 2000 in clearly visible.

Starting New York, that remained dense populated with 79,216 in 1800. However, this value rose to a number of 3,437,202 in 1900 and end up with 8,009,18 in 2000. Similarly, the city of Mnahattan showed variations. Its population in 1800 was 60,515 with 76% of total population. Conversly, its population increased upto 1,850,093 in 1900 that is almost half of the population of New york in same year. Furthermore, a dramatic fall of individuals of Manhattan in 2000 to a value of 1,538,096 is evident.

Looking at the population of other districts, the population is 18,701 with 24% of total population in 1800 however, it raised to 1587,109 in 1900 and the in 2000 it reached to a value of 6,471,089 with 81% of overall population.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the prompt by selecting and reporting the main features from the tables, presenting an overview of the general trends in New York City's population from 1800 to 2000. However, some aspects of the task are handled more successfully than others. The overview is somewhat basic and the distinction between Manhattan and the other districts could have been synthesised more effectively. Furthermore, a few factual or numerical transcription errors occur in the body paragraphs, such as '8009,185' and '8,009,18'. While the main trends—the overall population growth and the shifting distribution away from Manhattan—are correctly identified and supported with figures, the development of some supporting details remains limited, which places this aspect of the writing firmly within the middle band.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response maintains an overall coherent arrangement and a clear progression of ideas from the total population figures down to specific districts. Paragraphing is utilised to separate the introduction, overall summary, Manhattan, and the other districts. Nevertheless, cohesion at the sentence level is sometimes faulty or mechanical. Words such as 'However' and 'Conversly' are used awkwardly or with spelling inaccuracies, and referencing is not always completely clear. For instance, transitional phrases like 'Starting New York' are grammatically disjointed and impede the natural flow of information between sentences, reflecting the characteristics of a middle band for this criterion.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, successfully conveying general trends such as 'population', 'percentage', and 'variation'. The writer attempts less common vocabulary items, such as 'dramatic fall', but these attempts are accompanied by noticeable inaccuracies in word choice, spelling, and word form (for example, 'Conversly', 'Mnahattan', and 'dense populated' instead of 'densely populated'). Spelling and word choice errors appear throughout the text, though they generally do not prevent communication. To move to a higher band, the writer needs to demonstrate greater precision in word selection, correct spelling of proper nouns and transition words, and more natural collocations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, attempting structures such as relative clauses and comparative constructions. However, control over grammar is inconsistent. There are several errors in prepositions, article usage, and verb forms, such as 'the decrease in people of Manhattan in 2000 in clearly visible', 'end up with' instead of 'ended up with', and 'the population is 18,701... however, it raised'. Punctuation errors, such as missing commas after introductory phrases, also occur. These errors represent a typical mix of structures with some persistent mistakes that rarely obscure the overall meaning, fitting the profile of the assigned band.

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

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