Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-11

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 three tables illustrate changes in the population of new york city and its districts from 1800 to 2000. Overall, the total population of new york city increased dramatically over the 200 years.While Manhattan was the most populated district in 1800, its share of the total population fell sharply,and the other four districts together became dominant by 2000. In 1800,New-york city had a small population of only 79,216.By 1900,this figure grew significiently to about 3.4 million,and it more then doubled to just over 8 million by 2000.Mahattans population rose from 60,515 in 1800 to a peak of 1,850,093 in 1900, but then fell to 1,538,096 in 2000. Despite this growth is absolute number its percentage shared dropped from 76% 1800 TO 54% in 1900, and finally to only 19% in 2000. In contrast, the other districts-Brooklyn,Bronax,Queens, and staten island-had only18,701 people 24% in 1800.Their population exploded to 1.5 million 46% In 1900 and reached 6,471,089 81% in 2000,becoming the vast majority of the city population.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You identify the main overall patterns: New York City’s population rose substantially, Manhattan’s share declined, and the other districts became dominant. The key figures for the city and Manhattan are generally reported accurately, and the comparison between 1800 and 2000 is clear. However, some details are imprecise: the other districts had 1,587,109 people in 1900, not simply “1.5 million,” and their 1800 population and percentage are presented without clearly separating the two measures. The overview could also state more explicitly that Manhattan’s population itself peaked in 1900 before falling. This covers the task and selects relevant features, but some comparisons are less fully developed or precise than the strongest ones.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a coherent overall shape: an introduction, a broad overview, and two paragraphs of supporting comparisons. The contrast signalled by “In contrast” helps distinguish Manhattan from the other districts, while the chronological sequence makes the changes easy to follow. However, the body is presented as one long paragraph, and several transitions and references are crowded together, particularly in the sentence moving from Manhattan’s population to its percentage share. The final paragraph also combines population figures and percentages in a way that makes their relationship less clear. Use separate, clearly organised body paragraphs and connect each figure explicitly to its measure; this would make the progression more controlled rather than occasionally mechanical.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use a suitable range of task vocabulary, including “increased dramatically,” “share,” “peak,” “fell sharply,” and “vast majority,” which helps describe trends and comparisons. Meaning is generally clear, but several spelling and word-choice errors reduce precision: “significiently,” “Mahattans,” “Bronax,” and “more then” are inaccurate, and “exploded” is somewhat informal for an academic report. Some expressions are also awkward, such as “Despite this growth is absolute number its percentage shared.” Aim for accurate spelling and more natural collocations, for example, “in absolute terms” and “accounted for.” The vocabulary is adequate for reporting the data and includes some less common choices, but control is uneven.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You attempt a mix of simple and complex structures, including the contrast in “While Manhattan was the most populated district…” and the sentence describing its rise and subsequent decline. Most relationships between ideas remain understandable. However, some grammatical and punctuation errors are noticeable: “Despite this growth is absolute number its percentage shared dropped” lacks a clear grammatical structure, and the percentage sequence needs a preposition (“from 76% in 1800 to 54% in 1900”). There are also missing spaces after full stops and commas, and inconsistent capitalisation, which make sentence boundaries less polished. Check clause structure and punctuation carefully, especially when combining several figures in one sentence. The range is present, but accuracy is not yet consistent.

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