Band 4.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.0 · 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 4.0)

This table shows the sumarized information regarding date, its length and passangers per year underground railway system of various cities in the world. It can be seen that the most oldest and longest underground railway system is in London which was built in 1863 and has 394 kilometers route. However, it has 4th lowest passengers recodes compared to other. if we compare it with Tokye then

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 3.0

You identify relevant features, including London’s opening date and its 394-kilometre route, and attempt a comparison with Tokyo. However, the response stops before that comparison is completed and does not summarise the other cities or give a clear overview of the main patterns, such as Tokyo having the highest annual passenger total while London has the longest route. The required minimum length is not met, so the information selected is very limited and the task is only minimally addressed. To improve, provide an overview and compare the oldest and newest systems, route lengths, and passenger figures using accurate data from across the table.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 3.5

There is a basic attempt to organise information: the opening identifies the table, and the next sentence focuses on London before introducing a comparison with Tokyo. The linking words “However” and “if we compare it with” show an effort to connect ideas. Nevertheless, the response ends mid-thought, so there is no clear progression or conclusion, and the comparison is not developed. The transition from London’s route length to its passenger ranking is also abrupt. Organise the response into an introduction, an overview, and one or two comparison paragraphs, using clear links to show how the figures relate.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The response uses some task-relevant vocabulary, including “underground railway system,” “route,” and “passengers per year,” and attempts comparative language with “most oldest,” “longest,” and “4th lowest.” However, spelling and word-choice errors are noticeable: “sumarized,” “passangers,” “Tokye,” and “recodes” make parts of the message harder to understand. Some expressions are also unnatural, particularly “date, its length” and “passengers recodes.” Use precise table language such as “opening date,” “route length,” and “annual passenger numbers.” Check spelling carefully and choose standard comparative forms, for example “oldest” rather than “most oldest.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You produce a few connected sentence forms, including a relative clause in “London which was built in 1863” and a contrast introduced by “However.” The main meaning is generally recoverable, but grammatical control is uneven. The opening sentence lacks a clear grammatical structure, and “the most oldest and longest … is in London” combines an incorrect superlative construction with awkward agreement. The final clause, “if we compare it with Tokye then,” is incomplete, while the lowercase “if” after a full stop also shows a punctuation issue. Practise complete comparison sentences and check articles, sentence boundaries, and superlative forms.

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