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 first table illustrates the total number of citizens in New York City, while the other two tables differentiate this population in the five districts, namely Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, Staten Island from 1800 to 2000.

Overall, there was substancial growth in total population of city over two centuries with majority of them living in Manhattan first, but later the highest propotion shifted to other four districts

In the year 1800, the people living in the New York City was almost 80000, follwed by a significant rise, the figure went to 3.4 million in 1900. After that, the population almost got doubled (8 Million) in 2000.

At firts, Manhattan was the place which have the 3/4th of the population (76%) of the city, with a graduall decrease it went to only 19%. On the other hand, Other four districts shows 24% of the total population n 1800, with a steady rose the figure reached to 81% of the total population in 2000.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

You identify the main overall changes accurately: New York City’s population rose substantially, and Manhattan’s share fell while the other four districts’ share increased. The overview clearly captures the shift from Manhattan holding the majority in 1800 to the other districts accounting for most residents by 2000. You also include relevant figures for the city total and district percentages. However, the account is somewhat general: it omits the exact 2000 total and does not report the important reversal in Manhattan’s absolute population, which rose to 1,850,093 in 1900 before falling to 1,538,096 in 2000. Including this contrast would make the key features more fully supported and precise.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, an overview, and paragraphs describing the city total and district shares. The progression from the broad trend to supporting details is easy to follow, and contrasts such as “On the other hand” help signal the comparison. This gives the report a coherent foundation. However, some links between ideas are awkward or incomplete, particularly “In the year 1800 …, followed by a significant rise, the figure went to…”; the relationship between the clauses is not smoothly expressed. The final paragraph also combines the two district trends without giving the reader a clear comparison of their absolute populations. Use more controlled sentence links and organise the district details around a direct contrast.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some suitable task vocabulary, including “total population,” “significant rise,” “percentage,” and “shifted,” and the main meaning remains understandable. However, spelling and word-choice errors are noticeable, such as “substancial,” “propotion,” “follwed,” and “graduall.” Some expressions are also imprecise or unnatural for a data report: “number of citizens” is less suitable than “population,” and “the place which have the 3/4th” is awkward. “Steady rose” is not the correct form for describing an increase. Aim for accurate, conventional collocations and check spelling and word forms carefully; this will make your descriptions more precise and fluent.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mixture of simple and more complex sentences, including a contrast introduced by “while” and a sentence beginning “On the other hand.” The overall meaning is generally recoverable, but errors in sentence construction and basic grammar are frequent enough to limit clarity. For example, “the people living in the New York City was” has a subject–verb agreement problem, while “the place which have” uses an incorrect verb form. The sentence “In the year 1800 …, followed by a significant rise, the figure went to…” is also not properly joined. Articles and sentence boundaries need attention. Practise building accurate clauses first, then combine them with conjunctions, while checking agreement and tense consistency.

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