Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-08-04
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 5.0)
The table represents the data of the underground in six cities with resoect to their date of opening, travell distance and passengers travelled per year.
Maximum number of indviduals travelled in tokyo having considerabley small route. Additinally in contrsat to it minimum passengers travelled in Washington DC. At the same time the oldest railway was of London travelled largest distance.
If we see just numbers of passengers, largest of all 1927 travellers used undergraound railway pf Tokyo opened in 1927 with a travell distabce of 199 kilometers. After that for Paris, number of passenger who travelled by underground trains was 1191 that is less than Tokyo but they travelled a distance of 199 Km, larger than of Tokyo.
Minimum no of km(s) travelled and smallest no of passengers, who used underground railways can be seen in Washington DC, made into use in 1976.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The response fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 150 words, which significantly impacts the score. While you have identified some key features, such as the oldest system (London) and the highest passenger volume (Tokyo), the analysis is incomplete. You have not adequately compared all six cities, and some data points are misreported (e.g., stating Paris has 199 km of route, which is incorrect based on the table). The overview is weak and lacks a clear summary of the overall trends. To improve, ensure you cover all data categories and provide a more comprehensive comparison of the cities.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0
The essay lacks a clear logical progression. The paragraphing is insufficient, and the transition between ideas is often abrupt or confusing. Cohesive devices are used sparingly and sometimes incorrectly, such as 'Additinally in contrsat to it', which makes the flow of information difficult to follow. The referencing is also unclear at times, making it hard to distinguish which city the data refers to. To improve, use clear topic sentences for each paragraph and employ a wider range of linking words to connect your comparisons more fluidly.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The vocabulary is quite limited and repetitive. There are frequent spelling errors, such as 'resoect', 'travell', 'indviduals', 'considerabley', 'contrsat', 'undergraound', and 'distabce'. These errors, combined with the limited range of vocabulary, hinder the clarity of the report. You rely on basic descriptors and struggle to use precise terminology to describe the data. To improve, focus on learning topic-specific vocabulary for describing trends and data, and proofread your work carefully to eliminate basic spelling mistakes.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The response contains a high frequency of grammatical errors, including missing articles, incorrect prepositions, and awkward sentence structures. For example, 'The table represents the data of the underground' should be 'The table shows data regarding underground railway systems'. There is a lack of complex sentence structures, and the existing sentences are often fragmented or poorly constructed. The frequent errors in basic grammar and punctuation impede communication. You should focus on mastering subject-verb agreement and the correct use of articles to improve your accuracy.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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