Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-11-04

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 comapres the total population of the New York City, while the other two tables illustrate the population of five districts of same city between 1800 and 2000.

Overall, population increased throughout the period in all five districts. Manhattan's population was the highest while other districts population surged at the end of the period.

In 1800, New York city's population across five districts were the least (79,216), followed by huge increase 3,437,202, in 1900. At the end of 2000, it was tripled 8,009,185. Manhanttan district accounted for the largest population in 1800 which was 76% of total population followed by decrease to 54% in 1900 ( 1,850,093). And major reduction was seen in 2000, just 19% of total population.

Regarding other districts such as Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens and Staten Island 81% of total population was in 2000, while it was half in 1900 just 46%. These districts have least population in 1800, it was just 24%, 18,701.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the main overall change: New York City’s population rose substantially, while Manhattan’s share fell and the other districts’ share grew. The response also includes relevant figures for all three years, such as the city total of 79,216 in 1800 and 8,009,185 in 2000, and Manhattan’s 76% share at the start. However, the overview is partly inaccurate: Manhattan did not have the highest population throughout the period, since the other districts together had 6,471,089 residents compared with Manhattan’s 1,538,096 in 2000. The claim that population increased in all five districts is not supported by the tables, which give combined figures for the four other districts. Some comparisons, especially the 1900 and 2000 figures for those districts, could be explained more fully and precisely.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction, an overview, and paragraphs reporting the city total and district figures. This gives the reader a generally coherent route through the information, and transitions such as “Overall” and “Regarding other districts” help signal the focus. The organisation is not fully effective, however, because the overview’s claim about Manhattan being the largest conflicts with the later figures, and the final paragraph gives the other districts’ 2000 and 1900 shares before returning to 1800. Some links between comparisons are also abrupt, as in “followed by huge increase 3,437,202.” Grouping the figures chronologically or explicitly contrasting Manhattan with the combined other districts would make the progression clearer and cohesion less mechanical.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of task-related vocabulary, including “accounted for,” “followed by,” “reduction,” and “total population,” and the meaning is generally clear. There are also attempts to vary how changes are described, such as “surged” and “tripled.” Some choices are imprecise or awkward in context: “population was the least” is not a natural way to describe the smallest total, and “major reduction” does not specify that Manhattan’s population fell between 1900 and 2000. Spelling errors such as “comapres” and “Manhanttan” also reduce accuracy. Aim for precise terms such as “combined population,” “share,” and “declined,” and check spelling and collocations when editing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including clauses introduced by “while” and “which,” and the main information remains understandable. However, some grammatical errors recur. For example, “New York city's population … were” has subject–verb disagreement, while “it was tripled” uses an incorrect passive form; write “it tripled” or “it had tripled.” Articles and possessives are also inconsistent in “the New York City” and “other districts population.” Several sentences are fragments or have incomplete structures, including “And major reduction was seen in 2000” and “These districts have least population in 1800, it was just 24%.” Use complete sentences, maintain past-tense reporting, and check agreement and article use to improve control.

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