Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-08-14

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 elucidates the information on the underground railway networks of six well-known cities of the world. At a glance, London had a huge underground rail network, while annually more passengers used trains in Tokyo.

To begin with, underground railway systems were first inaugurated in London in 1863, having 394 kilometers of rail route and 775 million passengers boarded the trains annually. Secondly, Paris and Tokyo have started underground rails during the first half of the 20th century, with 199 and 155 kilometers of tracks, and served 1191 and 1927 million passengers per year respectively. In Washington DC and Kyoto, underground railways were started by a difference of only 5 years, Though, the rail route differed heavily between the two. Washington DC had 126 kilometers of rail network, and on the other side Kyoto had only 11 kilometers. In the beginning of the 21st century, in Los Angeles underground railway systems came and served nearly 50 million passengers yearly.

To sum up, London was the first to implement the underground railway systems which stretched hundreds of kilometers. While, Kyoto was having the least rail connectivity as compared to others.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response covers all key features of the table, including the dates, route lengths, and passenger numbers. You have successfully identified the main trends, such as London's extensive network and Tokyo's high passenger volume. The comparison between cities is clear, and you have highlighted the contrast between older and newer systems effectively. To reach a higher band, ensure that you provide a more analytical overview. While you mention that London had a huge network, you could further synthesize the data by noting the inverse relationship between the age of the system and the passenger numbers in some cases, rather than just listing the data for each city sequentially.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a summary. The use of cohesive devices such as 'To begin with', 'Secondly', and 'To sum up' helps guide the reader through the information. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical, and the sentence structure in the second paragraph is a bit repetitive. The referencing is generally clear, though the connection between the sentences in the second paragraph could be smoother to improve the flow of information. Overall, the progression of ideas is logical and easy to follow throughout the response.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You have used a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey the information accurately, such as 'inaugurated', 'connectivity', and 'implemented'. There are some minor issues with word choice, such as 'underground rails' instead of 'underground railway systems' or 'rail networks'. Additionally, phrases like 'rail route differed heavily' could be more precise, perhaps using 'varied significantly'. The vocabulary is adequate for the task, but to achieve a higher score, you should aim for more sophisticated collocations and avoid repeating the same terms throughout the text.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While most sentences are clear, there are some grammatical inaccuracies, such as 'Paris and Tokyo have started' (should be past simple 'started') and 'In the beginning of the 21st century, in Los Angeles underground railway systems came' (awkward phrasing). Punctuation is generally correct, but there is a minor error with the capitalization of 'Though' after a comma. Despite these errors, the meaning is never obscured, and the range of structures is sufficient to communicate the data effectively.

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

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