Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-11-12

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 4.5)

The following table illustrates the data collected about the subsurface railway systems in six cities, including the dates of opening the systems, the kilometers per journey, and the quantity of travelers per year counted in millions. the six cities are London, Paris, Tokyo, Washington DC, Kyoto, and Los Angeles.

First of all, the date opened all these systems, the oldest system is London which starts in the year 1863, while most of other system were invented in the 19th century; except one recent system which is Los Angeles's system opened in the year 1863

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 2.5

The response identifies the table’s subject and names all six cities, and it begins to report the opening dates. However, it does not provide a meaningful summary of the main features or compare the route lengths and passenger numbers, which are central parts of the data. The statement that most systems opened in the nineteenth century is inaccurate: only London and Paris did, while the other four opened later. It also gives Los Angeles’s opening year as 1863, although the table shows 2001. The response is substantially below the required 150 words, leaving too little coverage to fulfil the task. To improve, include an overview and accurate comparisons of the largest and smallest systems and passenger totals.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.0

There is a basic attempt to organise the response: an introductory sentence is followed by a paragraph about opening dates, and phrases such as “First of all” and “while” signal sequence and contrast. However, the response stops before developing a clear progression through the table’s main features. The second paragraph begins with the incomplete construction “First of all, the date opened all these systems,” and the contrast that follows is difficult to track because the information is inaccurate. The opening sentence also lists the cities without establishing which comparisons will follow. Use a clear overview, then group related comparisons—for example, older versus newer systems or route length versus passenger use—and connect complete ideas with precise linking phrases.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The response shows some range through alternatives such as “subsurface railway systems,” “quantity of travelers,” and “invented,” but several choices are unnatural or imprecise for describing a table. “Kilometers per journey” does not accurately describe the route-length column, and railway systems are not usually said to be “invented”; they “opened” or “began operating.” “Quantity of travelers” is less natural than “number of passengers.” These choices make parts of the data harder to interpret, although the general topic remains clear. Aim for accurate, conventional data-reporting vocabulary and avoid replacing the table’s labels with expressions that change their meaning.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response attempts a complex contrast using “while,” and the introductory sentence is broadly understandable. However, grammatical control is uneven. “The date opened all these systems” is not a complete, well-formed clause, and “the oldest system is London which starts” has an awkward clause structure and inconsistent tense. In “most of other system were,” the article and plural form are missing, while the final clause, “Los Angeles's system opened in the year 1863,” is not smoothly integrated into the sentence. Capitalisation is also inconsistent after the first full stop (“the six cities”). Use complete clauses, maintain past tense when reporting opening dates, and check articles, plurals, and sentence boundaries.

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