Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-11-05

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

The take below gives information about the underground railway systems in six cities.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

Underground Railway Systems

City	Date opened	Kilometers of route	Passengers per year (in millions)
London	1863	394	775
Paris	1900	199	1191
Tokyo	1927	155	1927
Washington DC	1976	126	144
Kyoto	1981	11	45
Los Angeles	2001	28	50

Student answer (Band 5.0)

The table illustrates the numbers of cities opened date of these cities kilometers of route of these cities and passengres per year (in million), first of all i will summarise this table.

The table show us that which,city railway system when opened it how many thousands killometers of routes had it and how many passangers per year in million had it.

First of all i will talk about Kyoto its railway system opened in 1981, it had 11 kilometers of routes and it had 45 millions passengers per year, second Los Angeles its rail;way system opened in 2001 it had 28 kilometers of routes and it had 50 millions passengers per year, Washington Dc its railway system opened in 1976 it had 126 kilometers of routes and it had 144 millions passengers per year.

Now, i will talk about London its railway system opened in 1863, it had 394 kilometers of routes and it had 775 millions passengers per year,second Paris its railway system opened in 1900 it had 199 kilometers of routes and it had 1191 millions passengers per year, Tokyo its railway system opened in 1927 it had 155 kilometers of routes and it had 1927 millions passengers per year.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You include figures for all six cities, covering opening dates, route lengths and annual passenger numbers, so the reader can find the main data. However, the response mainly lists each city in turn rather than selecting and highlighting the most important features. It gives no clear overview—for example, that London has the longest route and is the oldest system, while Tokyo carries the most passengers and Kyoto has the shortest route and lowest passenger total. The opening sentences repeat the task instead of summarising its key patterns, and the figures are not compared directly. To strengthen the report, add a concise overview and group the data around notable contrasts, using accurate units such as “millions of passengers.”

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

There is a basic attempt to organise the information: the response first discusses Kyoto, Los Angeles and Washington, then moves to London, Paris and Tokyo. This gives the reader some sense of grouping, and phrases such as “First of all” and “Now” signal a change. However, the progression is largely a repetitive city-by-city list, with no clear organising principle or developed overview. “First of all i will summarise this table” and “The table show us that…” repeat introductory information rather than advance the report. Linking is mechanical, and several details run together in long sentences. Use separate paragraphs for an overview and comparisons, and connect related figures with clear contrasts such as “whereas” or “by comparison.”

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary is sufficient to communicate the basic subject and figures, with relevant terms such as “railway system,” “kilometers of routes” and “passengers per year.” However, the range is limited and repetitive: “it had” is used repeatedly, and “I will talk about” is conversational rather than suitable for a formal data report. There are also noticeable spelling and word-form errors, including “passengres,” “passangers” and “killometers,” which reduce accuracy. Some expressions are imprecise, such as “numbers of cities opened date,” which does not clearly describe the table. Use concise reporting language and accurate collocations, for example, “the system opened,” “the route extended to,” and “carried 1,927 million passengers annually.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response communicates the figures, but its sentence structures are limited and many sentences follow the same simple pattern. There are frequent errors in sentence formation, agreement and punctuation, as in “The table show us that which,city railway system when opened it” and “it had 45 millions passengers per year.” The opening sentence is also a run-on, with several ideas joined without appropriate punctuation. Repeated use of “it had” prevents the writer from demonstrating a wider range of grammatical forms. Practise accurate simple clauses first, then combine comparisons using structures such as “Although London opened earliest, Tokyo recorded the highest annual passenger total.” Check subject–verb agreement, articles, plural forms and sentence boundaries.

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