Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-11-08

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 presents the data on underground railway systems in six different cities like. Units are measured in kilometers of route, and passengers per year in millions.

Overall, Tokyo recorded the maximum passengers in each annual, and the lowest in Kyoto. The date of ecah country presented by the year.

In Paris and Tokyo, each has a high passengers in years like 1191 and 1927 millions, while the kilometers are 199 in 1900 year and 155 in 1927 year. Furthermore, London shows the third high passengers in 1863 is 775 million, and the 394 kilimeters of route.

In Kyoto and Los Angeles, shows the similar passengers in each year just a minor difference like 5 million in each year, while 45 in Kyoto and 50 in Los Angeles. Washington DC has 144 million.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You identify the table’s subject and make some relevant comparisons, including Tokyo’s high passenger figure and the contrast between Kyoto and Los Angeles. However, the overview is incomplete and partly inaccurate: Tokyo has the most passengers, but Kyoto has the fewest, while London—not Tokyo—has the longest route. Several figures are reported without clearly comparing the cities, and the opening sentence does not establish the main patterns across all three measures. The response also contains fewer than the required 150 words, so it has limited space to select and report the key features. To strengthen the response, give a concise overview of the oldest and largest network, the busiest system, and the smaller, newer systems, then support it with accurate comparisons.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic structure: an introduction, an overview, and paragraphs grouping some cities. This gives the reader a general sense of how the information is organised. However, progression is uneven, and some links between ideas are unclear. For example, “In Paris and Tokyo, each has a high passengers in years” combines passenger totals with opening dates and route lengths in a confusing way. The final paragraph shifts among Kyoto, Los Angeles, and Washington without a clear comparison of all their figures. Connect each paragraph to a specific comparison, and use clearer references and linking phrases so the reader can follow the movement from overall patterns to supporting details.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant vocabulary for describing a table, such as “passengers,” “kilometers of route,” and “minor difference.” However, the range is limited, and several word choices or collocations make the meaning awkward, including “maximum passengers in each annual,” “third high passengers,” and “the date of each country.” There are also spelling errors, such as “ecah” and “kilimeters.” These issues sometimes make it difficult to understand exactly which measure is being described. Use precise terms such as “annual passenger numbers,” “the busiest system,” and “route length,” and check spelling carefully. Varying comparison language would also help you report the data more clearly.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response uses mostly short, simple statements, with a few attempts to combine ideas using “while” and “furthermore.” However, these attempts are often grammatically faulty, as in “In Kyoto and Los Angeles, shows the similar passengers” and “London shows the third high passengers in 1863 is 775 million.” These sentences lack clear subjects or have incorrect sentence structure, making relationships between figures difficult to follow. There are also problems with articles, agreement, and plural forms, as in “a high passengers.” Practise building accurate comparison sentences with a clear subject and verb, for example, “Tokyo had the highest annual passenger total, whereas London had the longest route.”

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