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 below illustrates the information about knowledge how railway system works in six different cities.

Overall,Tokyo accounted for greater passengers that use trains in Tokyo while Los Angeles participated minimum in this case.Additionally,London has competed for greater in route formation whereas Kyoto has smallest route.

In London,the railway was open in 1863 whereas it opened on 1900 in the city Paris.People use trains plummet level in Paris as compared to London about 1191 and 775 respectively.Moreover Tokyo started its own railway system in 1927 and it was almost 155 kilometers in distance which is small as compared to London and Paris which were about 394 and 199 respectively

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0

You identify some relevant comparisons, including Tokyo’s high passenger figure and London’s longest route, and you report several dates and route lengths. However, the response covers only part of the table: Washington DC and Kyoto are omitted, and Los Angeles is mentioned only in the overview without its figures. The overview also inaccurately says Los Angeles participated least, although Kyoto has fewer passengers, and the comparison of Paris and London passenger numbers is expressed unclearly. The response is 109 words, below the required 150, so the summary is too limited to report the main features adequately. Include all six cities and clearly compare the highest and lowest figures for each category.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

There is some basic organisation: an opening statement is followed by an overview and then details about London, Paris and Tokyo. Linking words such as “Overall,” “whereas” and “Moreover” help signal relationships between points. However, progression is limited because the response stops after discussing only three cities, and the overview’s comparisons are not consistently clear. For example, “London has competed for greater in route formation” does not clearly connect to the later route-length figures. Group the information into a clear overview and one or two detail paragraphs, and use comparisons that directly identify the cities and figures being contrasted.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The response uses some task-related vocabulary, including “passengers,” “route,” “kilometers” and “railway system,” so the topic is generally recognisable. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations make the meaning difficult to follow. “Knowledge how railway system works” does not describe what the table shows, while “participated minimum” and “competed for greater in route formation” are unnatural expressions. “Plummet level” is also unsuitable for describing passenger totals. Use precise, conventional language for data reporting, such as “recorded,” “had the longest route,” and “carried the fewest passengers,” and avoid adding meanings that are not in the table.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple sentences and longer comparisons, using structures such as “whereas” and “which were about 394 and 199 respectively.” However, control is uneven, and errors in sentence construction, articles, prepositions and punctuation sometimes make the message hard to interpret. Examples include “The table below illustrates the information about knowledge how railway system works,” “in the city Paris,” and “People use trains plummet level in Paris as compared to London about 1191 and 775 respectively.” Several sentences also run together without clear punctuation, as in the overview. Practise building accurate comparison sentences with a clear subject and verb, and check article use, commas and spacing after punctuation.

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