Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

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

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 given data below shows information regarding the basement railway systems in six different cities.

Overall, London railway is the oldest and it's route is the longest. Tokyo railway is the busiest and takes more passengers in comparison to the others. Kyoto route is the shortest among all and number of passengers per year are also low.

London railway is was established in 1863 and is 394 kilometers long. It takes 775 million passengers per year. Tokyo railway was opened in 1927 and is 155 kilometers long. It takes 1927 million of passengers every year, which is the highest number of passengers among these all. Railway track in Washington DC was started in 1976 and the route is 126 kilometers long. The number of passengers travel per year are 144 million. Paris railway is the second oldest railway and is started in 1900, which takes 1191 million passengers every year.

Kyoto Railway is the second latest railway which started in 1981 and it takes 45 million passengers per year. It is shortest among all. Los Angeles railway started in 2001 and its length is 28 kilometers which takes 50 million people per year.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You identify the main comparisons clearly: London is the oldest and has the longest route, Tokyo carries the most passengers, and Kyoto has the shortest route. You also report figures for all six cities, so the key information is covered. The overview is useful, and the details generally support it. To make the summary more complete and precise, compare the remaining extremes explicitly: Los Angeles is the newest system, while Washington DC has the fewest passengers, rather than describing Kyoto’s passenger total simply as “low.” Some details are less fully developed, and the phrase “takes more passengers” does not clearly distinguish annual passenger numbers from capacity. More direct comparisons across the figures would strengthen the report.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, an overview, and two paragraphs of supporting details. Grouping London, Tokyo, Washington DC and Paris before discussing Kyoto and Los Angeles makes the information reasonably easy to follow. However, the sequence within the first detail paragraph moves between cities without a clear organising principle, and the repeated pattern of naming a railway and listing its figures can feel mechanical. Some links between ideas are also awkward, such as “which takes 1191 million passengers” after the date information. Organise the details by a consistent comparison—for example, older and larger systems first, then newer and smaller ones—and use clearer references to connect each figure to its city.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for describing the table, including “oldest,” “longest,” “busiest,” “established,” and “route.” These choices communicate the main comparisons, but the range is limited and several expressions are imprecise or unnatural. “Basement railway systems” is not the correct term, while “takes passengers” is repeated and does not collocate naturally in this context. “Railway track” also does not accurately describe the full network. Use standard terms such as “underground railway system,” “carries” or “serves passengers,” and “network” or “route length.” Greater variety in how you report passenger totals and compare the systems would make the description more precise and fluent.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple statements and longer sentences, including a relative clause in “which is the highest number of passengers among these all.” Most of the data remains understandable, but some grammatical errors recur. For example, “London railway is was established” contains two competing verb forms, and “it's route” needs the possessive “its.” There are also agreement and sentence-pattern problems in “the number of passengers travel per year are 144 million,” and “Kyoto route is the shortest … and number of passengers … are also low” lacks appropriate articles and has awkward agreement. Practise accurate past-tense reporting and subject–verb agreement, and check articles and possessives. These corrections would improve control while retaining your range of sentence forms.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.