Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

The table provides information about how systems of underground railway in London, Paris, Tokyo, Washington DC, Kyoto, and Los Angeles changed, over a-138 year starting from 1863.

Overall, it can be seen that routes of kilometers in London was maximum and Tokyo shown the highest passengers, while Kyoto shown the least passengers and lowest kilometers of route.

Looking at the data set in more details it is evident that in 1863, london was 394 kilometers of route with 775millions passengers per year, Followed by Paris 199 kilometers of route and 1191 millions passengers per year in 1900, while in 1927, 1927 millions passengers are travel, which is the highest passengers in all over the period.

Turning to remaining data it can be seen that in 1976, Washington DC126 kilometers of route and 144 millions visitors per year. Followed by, Kyoto and Los Angeles 11 and 28 kilometers of route also 45 and 50 mill

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify several important comparisons in the overview: London has the longest route, Tokyo carries the most passengers, and Kyoto has the shortest route and fewest passengers. You also include figures for London, Paris, Tokyo and Washington, showing an attempt to report the main data. However, coverage is incomplete: the final sentence is cut off after “50 mill”, and the opening description says the systems “changed” over time, although the table compares cities rather than tracking changes. The opening dates are also not consistently reported, and the figures for Kyoto and Los Angeles are not fully presented. To strengthen the response, give a complete account of all six cities and compare the oldest and newest systems as well as route length and passenger numbers.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and two paragraphs presenting details. Phrases such as “Overall” and “Turning to remaining data” help signal the stages of the summary, and the information generally moves from the older systems to the newer ones. However, some links are mechanical or unclear. “Followed by Paris” does not clearly explain whether the comparison concerns opening date, route length or passenger numbers, and the final paragraph ends abruptly, leaving the comparison unfinished. Grouping the cities by a clear feature—for example, the three largest networks and the three smaller ones—would make the progression easier to follow. Use linking phrases to show the precise relationship between figures, rather than relying on “followed by.”

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant vocabulary for describing a table, including “maximum,” “highest,” “least,” and “data set,” and the reader can usually understand the intended comparisons. However, several expressions are inaccurate or awkward, such as “routes of kilometers,” “changed,” and “1927 millions passengers are travel.” The repeated use of “kilometers of route” and “passengers per year” also limits flexibility, while “visitors” is not an accurate substitute for passengers. Choose standard collocations for describing transport data and vary them carefully, for example, “route length,” “annual passenger numbers,” and “carried.” Accurate word forms and spelling, including “London,” will also make the summary more precise and professional.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including the overview beginning “Overall, it can be seen that…” and the transitions “Looking at the data set…” and “Turning to remaining data…”. However, errors in sentence structure and agreement are frequent enough to make some details difficult to interpret. For example, “routes of kilometers in London was maximum” has problems with the subject and verb, while “Tokyo shown the highest passengers” uses an incorrect verb form. The sentence about Paris and Tokyo also joins several figures without a clear grammatical structure. Practise forming complete comparison sentences with accurate subjects and verbs, such as “London had the longest route, at 394 kilometres.” Check articles, plurals, punctuation and sentence endings when editing.

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