Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-08-19

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 5.5)

The given table depicts data related to the underground railway system in six different cities.

Overall, London had the longest underground railway route among the given cities whereas Tokyo had most number of passengers year.

In detail, 1836 was the opening date of underground route in London which had 394 kilometers of route with 775 millions of travelling passengers. The count of passengers increased to 1191 in Paris. In twentieth century, 155 kilometers of the underground route carried 1927 million traveler.

In Washington DC, the underground route was opened in 1976 around 126 kilometers long with annual passengers of 144 million. 5 years later, 11 kilometer of railway route formed to carry 45 million people.

AI examiner evaluation

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 London's route length and Tokyo's passenger numbers, the analysis is incomplete. You omitted Los Angeles entirely and failed to provide a comprehensive comparison between the older and newer systems. The data provided is also inaccurate in places, such as stating London opened in 1836 instead of 1863. To improve, ensure you cover all data points provided in the table and provide a more thorough comparison of the trends across the six cities.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the progression of ideas is somewhat mechanical. You use basic cohesive devices like 'In detail' and 'In Washington DC', but the transition between the overview and the body paragraphs is abrupt. The lack of sufficient length means the response feels underdeveloped, preventing a more sophisticated flow of information. To improve, use a wider variety of linking words to connect your comparisons, such as 'in contrast to,' 'whereas,' or 'similarly,' to create a more cohesive narrative.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision and range required for a higher band. You use basic terms like 'depicts data,' 'opening date,' and 'count of passengers.' There are also some minor inaccuracies in word choice, such as 'most number of passengers year' (should be 'highest number of passengers per year'). To reach a higher band, try to incorporate more specific vocabulary related to data reporting, such as 'commenced operations,' 'annual ridership,' or 'extensive network,' and ensure your collocations are accurate.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are several grammatical errors, such as '11 kilometer of railway route formed' (passive voice error) and '155 kilometers of the underground route carried 1927 million traveler' (pluralization error). Punctuation is generally acceptable, but the sentence structure is somewhat repetitive. To improve, focus on using a wider range of complex structures, such as relative clauses or participle phrases, and ensure subject-verb agreement and pluralization are handled consistently throughout the text.

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

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