Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-11-14

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)

The table chart explain that the information about underground railway systems in six different cities there also have information about cities, when systems are opened also details about kilomwrwea of route and how much passenger were traveled per year i discuess about all things in eassy

in london underground railway systems are opened in 1863. it has a length of 394 kilometers. 775 million passenger were travelled through this channel.

railway system in paris are opened in 1900 it has quit small lenght compare of london route but there are more passengers were travelled compare to london route 1191 million passenger were travelled per year.

in tokyo undergroung railway systems were opended in 1927. this route lenght had 155 kilometers it has quit less lenght to paris route but pessengers were travelled on that route was huge 1927 million passenger were travelled per year on this route

washington DC under ground railway systems are opened in 1976. it has 126 kilometers of lenght and 144 million passenger were travelled yearly

kyoto system was opened in 1981. it is a small route it has lenght of 11 kilometers and 45 million passenger were travelled per year on that route

los angeles system are opened in 2001 it is also small route . it has 28 kilometer of lenght 50 million passenger were travelled on that route

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You report the figures for all six cities, including opening dates, route lengths and annual passenger numbers, so the response is relevant to the table. However, the main features are not clearly selected or summarised: there is no concise overview identifying, for example, London as the oldest and longest system, Tokyo as the busiest, or Kyoto as the shortest. Some comparisons are attempted, such as Paris having a shorter route than London but more passengers, yet the description of Paris as “quit small” is imprecise and the comparison is not developed. To strengthen the response, begin with an overview of the most striking contrasts, then group and compare the data rather than listing each city separately.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response follows a generally understandable order, moving from London and Paris through the remaining cities, and each city is given its own paragraph. This makes the individual data points relatively easy to locate. However, the opening sentence is difficult to follow, and the essay has little overall progression beyond a sequence of city-by-city descriptions. Links such as “but” and “also” are used, but comparisons between the figures are limited and some connections are unclear. A clearer structure would use an introduction, a brief overview, and two grouped body paragraphs—for example, older/larger systems and newer/smaller systems. Use linking phrases to show meaningful contrasts between cities.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant topic vocabulary, including “underground railway systems,” “route,” “length,” and “passengers,” and the reader can usually identify the intended information. However, the range is limited and several choices or spellings make the writing less precise, such as “quit small,” “channel,” “kilomwrwea,” and “pessengers.” The repeated phrase “passenger were travelled” is also an unnatural way to describe annual usage. Aim for accurate, varied expressions such as “carried,” “served,” “annual ridership,” and “route network.” Check spelling carefully and avoid calling a railway route a “channel”; precise vocabulary will make comparisons clearer and more natural.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

Most of the response uses simple sentence patterns, and the basic facts can generally be understood. There are attempts to connect ideas, as in the comparison between Paris and London, but control is inconsistent. Errors include subject–verb agreement and verb forms in “the table chart explain” and “systems are opened,” as well as the repeated construction “passenger were travelled.” Articles and sentence boundaries are also unreliable, particularly in the opening, which runs several ideas together. Practise accurate past-tense reporting (“opened in 1863”) and active constructions (“the system carried 775 million passengers”). Then combine short sentences selectively, while checking agreement, plurals and punctuation.

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