Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

So the table below shows the comparison of six countries railways that when they get opened, how many kilometers of route they travel and the amount of passengers use the trains.

While looking at the table, Paris shows the largest amount of people travelled and Kyoto, shows the lowest number of people who travelled. Also, tokyo has slightly less number than Paris but overall its been the second-largest amount of people who have travelled there.

The oldest railway system is in London, which was built in 1863, and around 775 million passengers travelled in a year and travels around 394 kilometers of route. This shows the technology or the advancements used are top notch of that time.

In 2001, Los Angeles railway system was built which is the most latest among all thats why it has around 50 miliion passengers travelled per year.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You identify some relevant headline features, including London as the oldest system, Paris as the busiest, and Kyoto as having the fewest passengers. However, the summary is incomplete: it omits several cities’ figures and does not compare route lengths across the six systems, despite this being a key table category. The overview is also limited, and the claim that Los Angeles is the “most latest” is not supported with a comparison of all opening dates. The comment about London’s technology being “top notch” adds speculation rather than reporting information shown in the table. The response is also 7 words below the required minimum. To improve, cover all three measures, select the most important contrasts, and avoid unsupported interpretation.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has a basic paragraph structure: an introduction is followed by observations about passenger numbers and then details about London and Los Angeles. Linking expressions such as “Also” and “In 2001” help connect points, and the reader can generally follow the sequence. However, there is no clear overall progression through the table, and the discussion jumps between passenger totals, opening dates, and route length without a consistent organising principle. The final paragraph focuses on one city rather than completing the comparison. Grouping the oldest and newest systems together, then comparing the busiest and least-used systems, would create a clearer progression. A concise overview before the details would also help the reader understand the main patterns.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant vocabulary, including “oldest,” “largest,” “lowest,” and “passengers,” which allows you to report basic comparisons. However, the range is limited and several choices are inaccurate or awkward for describing a table. “Six countries railways” is imprecise because the table compares cities, while “the amount of passengers” and “people travelled” are not natural ways to express passenger totals. There are also spelling and form errors, such as “miliion,” and “most latest” is redundant. Aim for precise data-reporting language, such as “annual passenger numbers,” “route length,” and “the newest system.” This will make comparisons clearer and more appropriate to an academic summary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt a few different sentence forms, including a relative clause in “London, which was built in 1863” and a time clause beginning “In 2001.” Most of the basic meaning is understandable, but errors are frequent enough to make some sentences awkward. For example, the opening sentence has an unclear structure (“that when they get opened”), and “how many kilometers of route they travel” does not form a clear grammatical description. In “Paris shows the largest amount of people travelled,” the tense and clause structure are also problematic. Use straightforward present-tense reporting structures, such as “The table compares…” and “London’s system opened in…,” then check articles, verb forms, and sentence boundaries.

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