Band 4.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.0 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-08-15

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 table depicts the information about the underground railway system in six cities

It is clearly seen that, the maximum passengers per year (in millions) was Tokyo and minimum passengers in Kyoto.

To commence with, In 1863 London was 394 kilometers of route, that passengers per year was 775 million and in next year paris 1900 was 199 kilometer and 1191 passenger in million. Tokyo was date open 1927 was 155 kilometers route was 1927 in million.

The moving towards remaining information, The washington open 1977 to 126 kilometer route was 144 million passenger per year. However, kyoto 1981 to 11 kilometer was 45

passenger per million per year.

and Los Angles was 80 million

to 28 kilometer 's route was

2001.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.0

The response fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 150 words, which significantly impacts the development of the task. While you have identified some key features, such as the highest and lowest passenger numbers, the report is underdeveloped. The data is presented in a fragmented manner, and there is a lack of meaningful comparison between the cities. For instance, you mention the dates and figures but do not synthesize the information to highlight trends or relationships between the age of the systems and their usage. To improve, ensure you provide a clear overview and group data logically to facilitate comparison.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 4.0

The essay lacks a clear logical progression. The paragraphing is inconsistent, and the use of cohesive devices is mechanical and often inaccurate, such as 'The moving towards remaining information'. The sentences are disjointed, making it difficult for the reader to follow the flow of information. To improve, use transition signals more naturally to link ideas and ensure that each paragraph has a clear focus. Currently, the lack of structure and the fragmented nature of the sentences hinder the overall coherence of the report.

Lexical Resource — Band 4.0

The vocabulary is very limited and repetitive, relying heavily on the words provided in the prompt. There are frequent errors in word choice and phrasing, such as 'Tokyo was date open 1927' and 'passenger per million per year'. These errors sometimes make the meaning unclear. To reach a higher band, you need to use a wider range of vocabulary to describe data, such as verbs like 'commenced', 'surpassed', or 'accounted for', and use nouns like 'ridership' or 'network length' to avoid repeating the same terms.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 4.0

The response contains frequent grammatical errors that impede communication. There are issues with sentence structure, such as 'In 1863 London was 394 kilometers of route', where the subject-verb agreement and prepositional usage are incorrect. Punctuation is also problematic, with erratic capitalization and sentence fragments. The range of structures is very limited, consisting mostly of simple, error-prone sentences. To improve, focus on basic sentence construction, ensuring every sentence has a clear subject and verb, and practice using prepositions correctly when describing data points.

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

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