Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-26

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 7.0)

The tables give information on the total number of people living in New York City as well as the number of people living in other five districts of the city separately in 1800, 1900 and 2000.

Overall, the population of New York City skyrocketed over the years. As for the percentage of people living in different districts, the number of people living in Manhattan declined over the period of 200 years whereas, more and more people preferred other 4 districts over Manhattan as its percentage kept growing.

New York City had only around eighty thousand people in 1800 which then surged rapidly to more than 3 million residents by the next century. The population kept growing and the total number of people living in New York became around 8 million by 2000.

During 1800, most of these people lived in Manhattan, which was 76% of the total number. Only 24% people lived in Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens and Staten Island altogether. However, by the next century Manhattan became less populated as the percentage dropped to 54% while 46% people lived in other 4 districts. This trend continued in 2000, where Manhattan further fall to 19% and the population of other 4 New York districts became 6,471,089 which constituted 81% of the total residents living in New York.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

The response identifies the main trends accurately: New York City’s total population rose sharply, while Manhattan’s share fell and the combined share of the other districts increased. It supports these points with relevant figures, including the 76% to 19% change for Manhattan and the 81% share of the other districts in 2000. The overview is clear, and the report covers both the citywide totals and district distribution. However, it could compare the absolute populations more fully: Manhattan’s population rose from 60,515 to 1,850,093 by 1900 before declining to 1,538,096, a key contrast with the continued growth elsewhere. Also, “more and more people preferred” suggests a choice or preference that the tables do not establish; describe the population shift neutrally.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The response is organised into a clear introduction, overview and two detail paragraphs, moving from the citywide population to the district breakdown. This gives the reader a logical progression, and linking expressions such as “Overall,” “However,” and “This trend continued” help signal the relationships between points. The comparisons between 1800, 1900 and 2000 are generally easy to follow. To make cohesion more precise, avoid repeating “the population” and “people living” so often, and use clearer references when moving between totals and percentages. For example, “Manhattan further fall to 19%” refers to its share, not its population, so explicitly naming “its share of the city total” would improve clarity.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

There is a useful range of vocabulary for describing change, including “skyrocketed,” “surged rapidly,” “declined,” and “constituted,” and the meaning remains clear throughout. Some choices are less precise or natural for an academic data report. “People preferred other 4 districts” attributes a preference that the data cannot show, while “the number of people living in Manhattan declined” is misleading because its absolute population increased by 1900 before falling. “Other five districts” also conflicts with the intended meaning of the other four districts. Greater precision in describing shares, totals and combined districts would show more flexible control of vocabulary and collocation.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

The response uses a mix of simple and complex forms, including a relative clause in “which then surged rapidly” and a contrast clause beginning “whereas.” Most sentences communicate the intended comparisons, but some grammatical errors remain. In “whereas, more and more people,” the comma is misplaced and the clause is not smoothly joined. “Only 24% people” needs “of” (“24% of people”), and “Manhattan further fall to 19%” has an incorrect verb form; use “fell.” The sentence beginning “During 1800” also uses an awkward time construction. These are generally understandable, but more consistent control of verb tense, articles and sentence punctuation would strengthen accuracy.

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