Band 7.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-07-24

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 7.5)

The table chart illustrates the data regarding opening date, kilometers of route and passengers per year in the underground railway systems in six cities (London, Paris, Tokyo, Washington, Kyoto and Los Angeles).

Overall, London underground railway system was the oldest from all other cities and covers maximum route, whereas Kyoto has the shortest route with least number of passengers. Majority of travellers travel by Tokyo railway and Paris is at second position in regards to this.

The underground railway system of Tokyo which was inaugurated in 1927, covers 155km by taking maximum number of passengers per year (1927 million), followed by Paris, which was opened in the year of 1900 and finish 199km of route by carrying 1191 million travellers. The oldest underground railway system was in London (1863). It has 394km in its journey and take 775 million of passengers per year.

Washington railway system, which was opened after Tokyo's in 1976, take 144 million travellers annually and covers 126km of journey. The underground railway which has the shortest trip and takes only 45m passengers in a year was Kyoto (1981). The most recently opened railway system was in Los Angeles (2001), which carries 50 million travellers and covers 28km of distance.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.5

You have successfully identified the main features and provided relevant comparisons. You covered all six cities and included the key data points (date, route length, and passenger numbers). The overview clearly highlights the oldest system (London) and the extremes in terms of route length and passenger volume. To reach a higher band, ensure your comparisons are more analytical rather than just listing data. For example, instead of just stating the figures for each city, you could explicitly contrast the high passenger volume in Tokyo despite its relatively short route compared to London's extensive network. Overall, the response is accurate and fulfills the requirements of the task.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.5

The response is logically organized, with a clear introduction, an overview, and two body paragraphs that group the information effectively. You use cohesive devices such as 'whereas', 'followed by', and 'in regards to' to link ideas. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical, and the referencing could be smoother. For instance, in the third paragraph, the flow between the description of Tokyo, Paris, and London is a bit repetitive in structure. Improving the variety of linking phrases would help the text flow more naturally and elevate the coherence of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 7.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'inaugurated', 'annually', and 'travellers'. There are some minor inaccuracies in word choice, such as 'finish 199km of route' (which is not a standard collocation) and 'take 775 million of passengers' (should be 'carries' or 'serves'). While the vocabulary is sufficient to convey your meaning clearly, it lacks the precision and flexibility required for higher bands. Focusing on more sophisticated collocations related to data reporting would strengthen this area.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 7.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as relative clauses ('which was inaugurated in 1927'). There are some grammatical errors, such as 'London underground railway system was the oldest from all other cities' (should be 'of all') and 'take 144 million travellers' (subject-verb agreement error). Punctuation is generally correct, but there are occasional slips in article usage and preposition choice. The errors do not impede communication, but they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and consistent tense usage will improve your accuracy.

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