Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-07-25

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 6.5)

The chart tells about the underground railway system of six different cities. The cities included in the chart are London, Paris, Tokyo, Washington DC, Kyoto and Los Angeles. It also shows their length and the number of passengers who taken this route per annum. The underground railway system of London was opened in 1863 for public to use and it's total length is 394 kilometers moreover, 775 millions passengers take this route per annum. Paris's railway system was built in 1900 and it is 199km long and 1191 millions passengers take this route per year which is much higher than the London's underground railway system. In Tokyo the underground railway completed and opened for public in 1927 and it's length is 155km and 1927 millions passengers take this route every year which is the highest than all in the chart. Washington's system was opened in 1976 and it's length is 126km and only 144 millions passengers take this route. Kyoto's underground system opened in 1981 and it's length is just 11km which is the smallest in the whole chart and only 45 millions passengers take this route per annum which is also the smallest figure in the whole paragraph. Underground railway system in Los Angeles was opened in 2001 and it's length is 28km and 50 millions passengers use this route per annum.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response covers all the data provided in the table and makes relevant comparisons, such as noting that Tokyo has the highest passenger numbers and Kyoto the shortest route. However, the report lacks an overview or summary paragraph, which is a key requirement for Task 1. The information is presented in a list-like fashion, moving from city to city without grouping the data effectively to highlight trends or significant features. To improve, you should group the cities by characteristics (e.g., oldest vs. newest systems) and provide a clear opening summary of the main trends.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The response is coherent in its overall arrangement, but the lack of paragraphing makes it difficult to read. The entire response is a single block of text, which negatively impacts the structure. While some cohesive devices are used (e.g., 'moreover', 'which is'), they are often repetitive. The progression of ideas is mechanical, as you simply list facts for each city one by one. Using paragraph breaks to separate the introduction/overview from the body paragraphs would significantly improve the flow and logical organization of your report.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks variety and sophistication. You frequently repeat phrases like 'take this route per annum' and 'opened for public'. There are also some minor inaccuracies in word choice, such as 'highest than all' (should be 'highest of all') and 'smallest figure' (when referring to distance, 'shortest' is more appropriate). To reach a higher band, try to use a wider range of synonyms and more precise collocations to describe the data, such as 'commuters', 'annual ridership', or 'extensive network'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors. For example, 'who taken this route' should be 'who take this route', and 'it's total length' should be 'its total length' (confusing the possessive 'its' with the contraction 'it is'). Additionally, there are issues with article usage and preposition placement. While these errors rarely impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. Focus on proofreading for basic subject-verb agreement and possessive pronoun usage.

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