Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · 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 7.0)

The provided tabular chart gives the information about the underground railway systems in six different cities : London, Paris, Tokyo, Washington DC, Kyoto, Los Angeles. The data has been calibrated into millions.

Overall, it is crystal clear that the majority of passengers travelled in the city named Tokyo while the lowest ratio of the passengers were accounted in Kyoto.

At a fleeting glance, it is evident that the first underground railway was built in London which covers 394 kilometers and 775 million passengers per year. Followed by Paris, second underground railway was built here which covers 199 kilometer route with 1191 millions of passengers in a year. An underground railway w3as built in Tokyo in 1927 covered 155 kilometer route and highest proportion of passengers travelled in it with 1927 million passengers a year.

Moving ahead, underground railway was started in 1976 in Washington DC and a route of 126 kilometer and 144 million passengers use it for travelling. Los Angeles's underground railway system was set up in 2001 with a route of just 28 kilometers with just 50 million passengers per year. The lowest proportion of passengers were travelling by the railway system of Kyoto which was established in 1981 and route of only 11 kilometers and just 45 million passengers.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

You have successfully identified the main features of the table and provided relevant comparisons. You covered all six cities and included the key data points (date, route length, and passenger numbers). The overview is clear, highlighting the extremes in passenger numbers. To improve, ensure you avoid minor inaccuracies, such as stating that Tokyo has the 'lowest ratio' of passengers when the data shows Kyoto has the lowest. Additionally, ensure your data reporting is precise; for instance, you mentioned 'millions' for route kilometers, which is factually incorrect based on the table. Overall, you have addressed the task requirements well.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The response is logically organized, with a clear introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs that group the data effectively. You use some cohesive devices like 'Moving ahead' and 'At a fleeting glance' to transition between ideas. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical or unnatural. The paragraphing is appropriate, and the progression of information is generally easy to follow. To reach a higher band, focus on using a wider variety of linking words and ensure that referencing between sentences is more precise to improve the flow of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'calibrated', 'proportion', and 'established'. However, there are some word choice errors and awkward phrasing, such as 'lowest ratio of the passengers were accounted in Kyoto' and 'data has been calibrated into millions'. The use of 'w3as' is a clear typographical error. To improve, work on using more precise collocations and ensure that your vocabulary is used in the correct context. Expanding your range to include more sophisticated synonyms for 'built' or 'started' would also be beneficial.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While your meaning is generally clear, there are several grammatical errors, such as 'the first underground railway was built in London which covers...' (missing punctuation or relative clause structure) and 'a route of 126 kilometer' (should be plural 'kilometers'). There are also issues with article usage and subject-verb agreement. While these errors do not significantly impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. Focus on proofreading for basic subject-verb agreement and pluralization errors.

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