Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-07-30

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 6.0)

The given tabular chart depicts the information about the underground railway systems in six cities in London, Paris, and other four cities. The data has been calibrated into millions.

Overall, it is crystal clear that the passengers per year was highest in Tokyo while the lowest passengers were in Kyoto according to the given time period.

At the fleeting glance, in London passengers per year was 775 millions and the date opened was 1863 followed by 394 Kilometers of the route. In Paris, the rate of travelers increases to 1191 millions and 199 of route in 1990. On the other hand, passengers in Tokyo gradually incline to 1927 the date opened.

In addition, the route of Kilometers was around 126 while, opened date was 1976 in Washington DC in which passengers did not surpass by 144 millions. Moreover, in Kyoto was opened in the year 1981 and had route of 11 Kilometers in which passengers per year sharply decline to 45 millions only. Lastly, in year 2001 underground railway system in Los Angeles covered 28 kilometers and passengers sharply declined to 50.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response covers all the required data points and identifies the main features, such as the highest and lowest passenger numbers. However, there are significant inaccuracies in the reporting of data. For example, you state Paris opened in 1990, whereas the table shows 1900. You also describe passenger numbers as 'declining' for Kyoto and Los Angeles, which is factually incorrect as the table provides static data for each city, not a chronological trend. While you have attempted to summarize the information, the misinterpretation of the data points limits the effectiveness of the report.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, and there is a clear attempt to use cohesive devices like 'Overall', 'In addition', and 'Lastly'. However, the flow is sometimes hindered by awkward phrasing and mechanical transitions. The referencing is occasionally unclear, such as when you mention 'the date opened' without specifying which city you are referring to in the final paragraph. While the structure is generally coherent, the progression of ideas is sometimes disjointed due to the inaccurate reporting of the data.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The range of vocabulary is adequate for the task, but there are frequent errors in word choice and collocation. For instance, 'calibrated into millions' is an unnatural way to describe data units, and 'at the fleeting glance' is an incorrect idiom. You also struggle with precise terminology, using 'rate of travelers' instead of 'passenger numbers'. While the meaning is generally clear, the lack of precision and the misuse of certain terms prevent a higher score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text. Examples include 'the passengers per year was highest' (subject-verb agreement), 'the route of Kilometers was around 126' (awkward phrasing), and 'in which passengers did not surpass by 144 millions' (incorrect preposition and verb usage). While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to be noticeable and affect the overall accuracy of the writing.

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