Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-11-06

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 6.0)

The table compares the underground railway systems in terms of their opening dates, kilometers of route, and annual passengers number.

Overall, London has the oldest railway system and the longest route network, while Los Angles has the newest system. Notably, Tokyo carries the largest numbers of passenger annually, whereas Kyoto has the smallest route network.

First looking at London railway system, it opened in 1863 and its route accounted for the longest distance of 394 kilometers and it carries 775 million people annually, whereas Paris railway system was opened in 1900 and it travels 199 kilometers of route and it carries 1191 million travelers per year. Followed by Tokyo railway system, it opened in 1927 and it travels 155 kilometers distance and it carries 1927 million passengers annually.

Turning to Washington DC railway system, it was established in 1976 and its network extended to 126 kilometers, it serves 144 million passengers annually. Kyoto's railway system, which opened in 1981 and its network route for 11 kilometers, 45 million passengers traveled by Kyoto railway system annually. In contrast, Los Angeles railway system was established in 2001 and its network route extended for 28 kilometers and 50 million passengers travelled by this railway system annually.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You cover all six cities and report the three measures, with a clear overview identifying London as the oldest and longest system, Los Angeles as the newest, Tokyo as the busiest, and Kyoto as having the shortest route. These are the main comparisons the table supports. However, some details are less fully or precisely presented: the overview does not mention that Kyoto has the fewest annual passengers, and the body mostly lists cities in sequence rather than drawing out comparisons between groups. For example, Tokyo’s passenger total is substantially higher than Paris’s despite its shorter route, a useful contrast to highlight. A more selective summary that groups the older, larger systems against the newer, smaller ones would develop the key features more fully.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, an overview, and two body paragraphs that move through the cities in a sensible order. Transitions such as “Overall,” “First looking at,” and “Turning to” help signal the stages of the report. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical because the body relies on repeated city-by-city sentences and repeated forms such as “it opened” and “it carries.” Some sentence connections are also unclear: the Washington DC sentence joins two independent clauses with a comma, while the Kyoto sentence begins with a dependent clause but does not complete it grammatically. Grouping cities by useful comparisons and varying the links between information would make progression smoother and references clearer.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for describing the table, including “route network,” “established,” “annually,” and “passengers.” The meaning is generally clear, and you make some attempts to vary wording with “travelers” and “people.” However, several choices are inaccurate or unnatural for this context. “Annual passengers number” is not a natural phrase, and “it travels 199 kilometers of route” incorrectly describes the railway system as travelling. “Los Angles” is also a spelling error, and “largest numbers of passenger” has problems with word form and number. Aim for precise, conventional collocations such as “annual passenger numbers,” “the route extends for,” and “carries passengers.” This would improve accuracy while retaining your current range.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and more complex forms, including the contrast with “whereas” and the relative clause “which opened in 1981.” Most information remains understandable, but some grammatical errors occur. In “it opened in 1863 and its route accounted for … and it carries,” the tense shifts unnecessarily from past to present; keep the reporting tense consistent. The phrase “the longest distance of 394 kilometers” also has an awkward grammatical construction. In “Turning to Washington DC … it was established … and its network extended …, it serves,” a comma joins clauses that need clearer separation. The Kyoto sentence, “which opened in 1981 and its network route for 11 kilometers,” is incomplete. Check clause structure, tense consistency, and sentence boundaries when editing.

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