Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-08-01

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 provides information about the data on underground railway system in six different cities.

Overall, Los Angeles station opened recently and the oldest one is in London. The highest number of passengers annually accounted in two cities Tokyo and Paris. The lowest kilometers was in Kyoto and Los Angeles.

Starting with the city Paris, it opened at 1900, the routes of kilometers nearly recorded at 199 and passengers stood at second lowest which was 1191. In Tokyo, station opened in the year 1927 and the greatest passengers accounted at 1927 millions. Then, in London, the opened date was older rather than others and it was in the 1863. The largest routes was also in 394 kilometers long and 775 millions passengers represented per year.

In Washington DC, the station was opened in the year 1976, around 126 kilometers running on routes and 144 millions passengers in that year. In the city Kyoto, the lowest kilometers was recorded and it was 11 also, 45 millions passengers was made up in that year. In Los Angeles, the new station was made in the year 2001. Kilometers and passengers stood at 28 kms and 50 millions passengers respectively.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response covers all the requirements of the task by reporting on the six cities and identifying key features. You have successfully highlighted the oldest and newest systems, as well as the extremes in passenger numbers and route length. However, the analysis is somewhat descriptive rather than analytical. For instance, you list the data for each city individually in the body paragraphs rather than grouping them by trends or making more sophisticated comparisons. To reach a higher band, focus on synthesizing the information—for example, noting that while London has the longest route, it is not the busiest, whereas Tokyo has a much shorter route but the highest passenger volume.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, with an introduction, an overview, and two body paragraphs. There is a clear progression of ideas. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat mechanical and repetitive (e.g., 'Starting with...', 'Then...', 'In the city...'). Some transitions feel forced, and the referencing is occasionally clunky, such as 'the opened date was older rather than others'. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring smoother transitions between sentences would enhance the flow and coherence of the response.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing you to convey the necessary information. You use some topic-specific terms like 'annually', 'respectively', and 'represented'. However, there are several instances of awkward phrasing and word choice, such as 'the routes of kilometers nearly recorded at 199' and 'the greatest passengers accounted at 1927 millions'. These errors occasionally make the text sound unnatural. To improve, focus on using more precise collocations and avoiding repetitive sentence structures when describing data points.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with articles, prepositions, and verb tense consistency (e.g., 'the opened date was older rather than others', '45 millions passengers was made up'). Some sentences are slightly disjointed due to these errors. To achieve a higher score, work on subject-verb agreement and the correct usage of comparative structures. Despite these errors, they rarely impede the reader's understanding of the data provided.

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