Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-11-09

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 5.5)

The table provides information about underground railway systems in London, Paris, Tokyo, Washington DC, Kyoto, Los Angeles between 1863 to 2001.

Overall, the table illustrates the information about railway system, passengers per year in Tokyo shows the highest ratio and Kyoto recorded as the lowest.

Initially, seven cities underground railway systems opened from 1863 to 2001, the largest proportion of kilometers of route stood at 394 with 775 passengers per year (in millions) which opened in 1863 while, Tokyo depicts the highest ratio of travelers at 1927 (in millions) with 155 km in 1927. The Paris stood at second highest with both the routes and passengers in 1900, it stood at 199 km with 1191 passengers (in millions).

Furthermore, Washington Dc opened in 1976 and accounted for 126 kilometers of route with 144 individuals (in millions), Los Angeles railway system started in 2001, with 28 km and ratio of passengers stood at 50 (in millions). The least proportion of routes was 11 km with 45 passengers per year (in millions).

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify several important features, including Tokyo’s highest annual passenger figure, Kyoto’s lowest figures, and London’s longest route. However, the overview is incomplete: it does not clearly summarise the broad patterns across all six systems, such as the contrast between older, larger networks and the newer, shorter ones. There is also a factual error in saying “seven cities”; the table contains six. Some comparisons are unclear or inaccurate, including “Paris stood at second highest with both the routes and passengers,” since Tokyo has more passengers. To strengthen the response, give a precise overview and report the key comparisons accurately, ensuring each figure is linked to the correct city and measure.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, an overview, and two paragraphs presenting figures. Grouping London, Tokyo and Paris before discussing the remaining cities gives the reader some sense of organisation. However, progression is not consistently clear: the first detail paragraph moves between opening dates, route lengths and passenger totals without a clear comparison framework. Linking words such as “Initially” and “Furthermore” are used, but they do not always show the relationship between the information that follows. The final sentence about Kyoto is also detached from the preceding discussion. Organise the details into clear comparisons—for example, largest and busiest systems, then the smaller systems—and use transitions that accurately signal those relationships.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant vocabulary for describing data, including “route,” “passengers per year,” “highest,” and “least.” There is also an attempt to vary wording with “travelers” and “individuals.” However, several choices are imprecise or unnatural for a table summary: “highest ratio” does not describe the largest passenger total, and “largest proportion of kilometers” is not an appropriate way to report a route length. Repeated use of “stood at” and “information” also limits precision. Choose direct terms such as “figure,” “total,” “longest network,” and “annual ridership,” and use “million passengers” rather than repeatedly adding “(in millions).” This would make comparisons clearer and more natural.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response attempts both simple and longer sentences, and the meaning is generally recoverable. However, complex sentences are often not controlled successfully. For example, “The table provides information … between 1863 to 2001” has an incorrect preposition pattern, while “The Paris stood at second highest … it stood at 199 km” joins ideas awkwardly and repeats the subject. There are also errors in articles, agreement and sentence boundaries, as in “seven cities underground railway systems opened” and the comma before “while” in the London sentence. Use shorter, complete sentences when presenting several figures, check singular and plural forms, and make sure each clause has a clear subject and verb. More accurate control of these patterns would improve readability.

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