Band 4.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.0 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-08-12

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 4.0)

The choose under present detail about the underground rail line method in six metropolis

In the summary ,the information of under ground railway systems

are the highest date of city in date opened are Los Angeles ,Kyoto ,Washington DC, Tokyo, Paris , London and the highest of Kilometers of route are London, Paris, Tokyo, Washington DC, Los Angeles, Kyoto and the highest of passengers per year (in millions) are Tokyo, Paris, London Washington DC, Los Angeles, Kyoto.

In the explanation, Los Angeles is largest date opened in 2001 , Kyoto date opened in 1981,Washington DC date opened in 1976, Tokyo date opened in 1927, Paris date opened in 1900, London date opened in 1863 and London is the largest kilo meters of route is 394, Paris is 199, Tokyo is 155, Washington DC is 126, Los Angeles is 28, Kyoto is 11 and Tokyo is the highest passengers per year is 1927, Paris is 1191, London is 775, Washington DC is 144, Los Angeles is 50, Kyoto is 45.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.0

The response attempts to summarize the data but fails to provide a meaningful overview or effective comparisons. The text is largely a list of data points rather than a synthesis of the information. For example, simply listing the cities in order of date opened or route length does not constitute an analysis of the 'main features'. The response lacks a clear structure to highlight trends, such as the contrast between older, larger systems like London and newer, smaller ones like Los Angeles. To improve, you should group information logically and focus on identifying significant patterns or outliers rather than transcribing the table row by row.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 4.0

The response lacks logical progression. The division into 'summary' and 'explanation' is ineffective because the content in both sections is repetitive and lacks clear thematic focus. There is a lack of cohesive devices to link ideas; the text relies on simple lists and repetitive sentence structures (e.g., 'London is... Paris is...'). Paragraphing is not used effectively to separate distinct ideas, and the overall flow is disjointed, making it difficult for the reader to follow the comparison of the six cities.

Lexical Resource — Band 4.0

The vocabulary is very limited and repetitive, relying heavily on the words provided in the prompt (e.g., 'date opened', 'kilometers of route', 'passengers per year'). There are significant issues with word choice and collocation, such as 'The choose under present detail' and 'six metropolis'. The lack of variety in descriptive language prevents the response from demonstrating the range required for higher bands. To improve, you should learn synonyms for data-related terms and practice using more precise verbs to describe trends, such as 'commenced', 'spans', or 'accommodates'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 4.0

The response contains frequent grammatical errors that impede clarity. There are issues with subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'the information... are'), incorrect word order, and missing articles. Sentence structures are basic and often run-on, lacking the complexity needed for higher scores. For instance, the sentence 'the highest date of city in date opened are Los Angeles...' is grammatically incoherent. Punctuation is also inconsistent, with missing spaces after commas. You need to focus on basic sentence construction, ensuring that subjects and verbs agree and that clauses are correctly linked.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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