Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-09

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 provided data is of three table charts which shows significant information regarding the variations in overall population of new york city and also their five districts between 1800 and 2000.

Overall, if we look closely it is seen that, the total population of New York gre dramatically over the period. While Manhattan accounted majority of the population in 1800, its share decline sharply, and the other districts became dominant by 2000.

In 1800, the total population of New York was only 79,216. Manhattan had about 60,515 which was 76% of the total, whereas the other districts had just 18,701 people or 24%. By 1900, the city's popullation surged to 3.4 million. Manhattan's popullation increased to 1.8 million, but its percentage fell to 54%. At the same time, the popullation of the other districts rose significantly to 1.58 million, representing 46% of the total.

In 2000, the popullation of New York goes high to 8 million.On the other hand, Manhattan's popullation sluged to 1.5 million which is 19% of the total.Moreover, the percentage of the other districts rapidly increased to 6.5 million that is 81% of the overall population.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You cover the main changes and provide a clear overview: the city’s population grew substantially, while Manhattan’s share fell and the other districts became dominant. The figures for 1800 and 1900 are generally reported accurately, and the comparison between Manhattan and the other districts is relevant. This meets the task well, though some details are less fully or precisely expressed. In 2000, the other districts’ 6.5 million is described as a “percentage” that increased, when it is the population that rose; the 81% share is not stated explicitly. Also, “the population of New York goes high to 8 million” is imprecise compared with the table’s 8,009,185. State both the population and share clearly to make the final comparison more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a coherent overall structure: an introduction, a summary of the main trends, and chronological paragraphs covering 1800, 1900 and 2000. This makes the information easy to follow, and linking expressions such as “By 1900,” “At the same time” and “On the other hand” help signal comparisons. Some cohesion is less controlled, however. The final paragraph shifts from the city total to Manhattan and then to the other districts without clearly distinguishing population figures from percentages, which makes the last comparison harder to interpret. Punctuation also runs ideas together in “8 million.On the other hand” and “total.Moreover.” Use clearer sentence boundaries and consistent references to each group and its share to strengthen progression.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a reasonable range of vocabulary for describing change, including “surged,” “increased,” “fell” and “representing,” and the main trends remain understandable. However, spelling and word-choice errors are noticeable and limit precision. “Gre dramatically” appears to be a misspelling of “grew,” while “popullation” is repeatedly misspelled. Some combinations are also unnatural: “goes high to 8 million” and “sluged to 1.5 million” do not express the intended changes appropriately. In addition, “the percentage … increased to 6.5 million” confuses a proportion with a population figure. Choose accurate trend verbs and distinguish clearly between population totals and percentage shares; careful proofreading would also remove repeated spelling errors.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and more complex structures, including a contrast clause beginning “While Manhattan accounted…” and a comparison using “whereas.” Most of the intended meaning can be understood, but some grammatical errors remain. The opening sentence has subject–verb disagreement in “three table charts which shows,” and the overview contains “its share decline,” where the verb form should agree with the past-time description. Tense use is also inconsistent: “the population … goes high” shifts to the present while the response describes historical data. Several sentences have missing spaces after full stops, affecting punctuation. Use consistent past-tense forms and check agreement and sentence boundaries while retaining the useful variety of sentence patterns.

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