Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-08-17
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 illustrates the information provided underground railway system for six different cities.
Overall, the railway station described the established , how kilometers of route and passengers per year in miillion. First established by railway station from Landon and recently built by a railway station from Los Angeles.
To begin with , London was a first built of a railway station from 1863 and a highest kilometer of route by railway station . It have 394 kilometers and Passengers included per year. It was 775 miillion . The highest passengers was included by Tokyo . which was established by 1927 and that was 155 kilometers of route . The second highest cities for passangers per year , which is located Paris . Which is 1191 miillion passengers per year . However they included for 199 kiliometers of route covering .
The Lowest passengers had included Kyoto and Los Angeles . Which was established by 1981 and 2001 and customers par year included 45 miillion and 50 miillion. The Kyoto was a smallest killometers covered than Los angeles and other cities.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 4.5 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The response covers all the cities and data points provided in the table, which is a positive aspect. However, the summary of main features is somewhat disjointed. While you identify the oldest (London) and newest (Los Angeles) systems, the comparison of data is often inaccurate or confusing. For instance, stating London has the 'highest kilometer of route' is correct, but the phrasing regarding passenger numbers is unclear. You need to focus on grouping the data more logically—perhaps by comparing the older, larger systems with the newer, smaller ones—rather than listing each city individually. The overview is present but lacks a clear synthesis of the trends.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0
The essay is divided into paragraphs, which is good, but the internal flow is frequently interrupted by awkward phrasing and mechanical errors. The use of cohesive devices is limited and often misused, such as the repetitive use of 'Which is' or 'Which was' to start sentences. This makes the progression of ideas feel disjointed. Referencing is also problematic; for example, 'It have 394 kilometers' is unclear because the pronoun 'It' does not clearly refer back to the subject in a natural way. To improve, focus on using a wider variety of linking words like 'whereas', 'in contrast', or 'consequently' to connect your ideas more smoothly.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The vocabulary is quite limited and repetitive. You frequently use basic terms like 'highest', 'lowest', and 'built'. There are also several spelling errors, such as 'miillion', 'kiliometers', and 'par year', which detract from the professional tone required for an Academic Task 1. Furthermore, the word choice is often imprecise; for example, using 'customers' instead of 'passengers' or 'railway station' when referring to the entire underground system. To reach a higher band, you should aim to use more precise terminology related to data description, such as 'commuters', 'network', 'span', or 'annual ridership'.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 4.5
The grammar is the weakest area of the response. There are frequent errors in sentence structure, subject-verb agreement, and article usage. For example, 'London was a first built of a railway station' is grammatically incorrect and difficult to follow. You rely heavily on simple sentence structures, and attempts at more complex sentences often result in errors, such as 'The highest passengers was included by Tokyo . which was established by 1927'. Punctuation is also inconsistent, with unnecessary spaces before commas and periods. You need to focus on basic sentence construction and ensuring that your verbs agree with your subjects.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.