Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)

The table displays the details of underground railway systems about date opened, routes, passengers per year in millions accross six cities which are London, Paris, Tokyo, Washington DC, Kyoto, Los Angeles from 1863 to 2001.

Overall Paris and Tokyo were exceptions for the passengers per year while Los Angeles with shortes route and passesngers as it developed later in 2001

In detail Paris operated in 1900 of 199 Km along with passangers of 1191 millions while Tokyo in 1927 of 155Km with passengers 1927 million.

London railway system started in 1863 with largest route of 394 Km with 775 million passangers.

Washington DC, Kyoto, Los Angeles iniated later in 1976, 1981 and 2001 with the reduced extent of routes, 126 Km for Washington DC with 144 passengers, 11 Km for Kyoto with 45 passengers, and 28 Km for Los Angeles with 50 passengers.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response covers all the cities and data points provided in the table. However, the report is under the 150-word minimum, which negatively impacts the task achievement score. While the main features are identified, the analysis is somewhat superficial. For instance, the comparison between the older, larger systems and the newer, smaller ones is mentioned but could be more effectively synthesised. The overview is present but lacks a clear, analytical focus on the most significant trends, such as the inverse relationship between the age of the system and the number of passengers in some cases. To improve, ensure you meet the word count and provide a more detailed comparison of the data.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The response is organised into logical paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the information. However, the use of cohesive devices is quite limited and sometimes mechanical. For example, the transition between the overview and the body paragraphs is abrupt. There is a lack of varied linking words to connect ideas within sentences, leading to a somewhat repetitive structure. While the progression of ideas is generally clear, the lack of sophisticated referencing and cohesive links prevents the response from reaching a higher band. Improving the flow between sentences using a wider range of transition signals would be beneficial.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task but remains quite basic and repetitive. Phrases like 'in detail' and 'operated in' are functional but lack variety. There are also some minor errors in word choice and spelling, such as 'shortes' instead of 'shortest' and 'passesngers' instead of 'passengers'. The range of vocabulary is sufficient to convey the main points, but there is little attempt to use more precise or academic terminology to describe the data trends. To improve, try to incorporate more varied verbs and nouns related to data analysis, such as 'commenced', 'surpassed', or 'a significant proportion'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally hinder the flow. For instance, 'The table displays the details of underground railway systems about date opened' is awkward and grammatically incorrect. There are also issues with preposition usage and article omission, such as 'in 1900 of 199 Km'. While the meaning is generally clear, the frequency of these errors suggests a lack of control over more complex sentence forms. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and correct prepositional phrases would help improve the accuracy of your writing.

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