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)

Underground railways systems is available in six cities that i am going to discuss.

London has underground railway and it opened in 1863. It's total route is 394 kilometers. And 775 million passenger use it yearly. As compare to London, france railway is used by most passenger and that is 1191 million. Although it's smaller then london with route of 199 kilometers and opened in 1900.

Tokyo inaugurated the undergrounded railway system in back 1927 with 127 kilometers route. And Yearly 1927 million of passenger get board on this railway that is hogher then all. Washington DC underground railway system opened in 1976 with route of 126 kilometers and 144 million of passenger use this railway system yearly. As compare to tokyo, washingon dc passenger strength is low and it has small track as compare to london.

Kyoto has underground railway system opened in 1981 with just 11 kilometers route and iit has shorter track, only 45 million passenger get advantage of this railway on yearly basis.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You report several key figures and make some relevant comparisons, including London’s longest route and Tokyo’s highest annual passenger total. However, the summary is incomplete: Los Angeles, the newest system, is omitted, and there is no clear overview bringing together the main patterns across all six cities. Some comparisons are also inaccurate or unclear. For example, Tokyo’s route is given as 127 kilometres, whereas the table shows 155, and the statement that Washington has a “small track as compare to london” is not a useful comparison because London’s route is much longer. To strengthen the response, cover every city, check each figure, and summarise the overall contrasts in age, route length and usage.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has a basic sequence, moving from London and Paris to Tokyo, Washington and Kyoto, and it uses linking expressions such as “Although” and “As compare to.” This gives the reader some sense of how the information is connected. However, the organisation is mostly a list of city-by-city details rather than a clear overview followed by logically grouped comparisons. Several sentences begin with “And,” and comparisons are sometimes awkward or unclear, particularly the Washington sentence comparing its track with London. Use a short introductory overview, group the largest and smallest systems, and make each comparison explicit. A separate paragraph for the remaining cities would also make the progression easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant topic vocabulary, including “route,” “passenger,” “inaugurated” and “yearly,” so the basic subject is clear. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate or unnatural, such as “undergrounded railway system,” “passenger strength,” and “get advantage of this railway.” Spelling errors, including “hogher” and “washingon,” also reduce precision. Aim for standard, concise expressions used in data summaries, such as “annual passenger numbers,” “carried” and “the shortest route.” Avoid repeating “railway system” when a pronoun or a more precise noun will do. More accurate vocabulary would make the comparisons clearer and more formal.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple statements and longer sentences with comparisons, for example, “Although it's smaller then london with route of 199 kilometers and opened in 1900.” However, sentence control is inconsistent: this “Although” clause is incomplete, and several sentences are joined with “And” rather than being punctuated or connected appropriately. There are also recurring errors in agreement, articles and sentence structure, as in “Underground railways systems is available” and “775 million passenger use it yearly.” Capitalisation and apostrophe use are inconsistent as well. Practise forming complete sentences with accurate subject–verb agreement, and combine comparisons using controlled structures such as “Although the Paris network is shorter, it carries more passengers.”

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