Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-08-20
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 table given illustrates the information regarding the underground railway systems in six cities which are London, Paris,Tokyo,Washington DC, Kyoyo and Los Angeles.
Overall, the earliest underground railway system were established and operated in London and the latest were established in Los angeles. Furthermore, the most highest number of passengers per year ( in millions) were of Tokyo followed by Paris. Then least number of passenger were of Kyoto city.
London were the first city were underground railway system were operated in 1863 years ago but it had only 775 millions of passenger per year. Tokyo underground system were opened from 1927 but it result with the highest number of passenger per year with 1927 millions passenger. On the other hand, Los Angeles underground railway system operated later in year 2001 nevertheless it were the railway with least number of passenger with merely 50 millions passenger per annual.
The highest kilometer of route were of Londonwith 394 kilometers which was estalished early compared to other six cities. While the least Kilometer of route were of Kyoto with only 11 kilometers. Paris,Tokyo,Washington DC were in moderate in case of kilometers of route with approximate of 130 kilometers.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response covers all parts of the task by identifying the main features and making relevant comparisons. You successfully highlighted the oldest and newest systems, as well as the extremes in passenger numbers and route length. However, the analysis is slightly hampered by inaccuracies in data interpretation; for instance, you stated that Kyoto had the least number of passengers, whereas the table shows Washington DC has 144 million and Kyoto has 45 million, but your comparison of Tokyo and Paris is accurate. To reach a higher band, ensure that data points are transcribed precisely and that comparisons are more analytical rather than just listing facts.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response is organized into logical paragraphs, with an introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs focusing on specific data points. Cohesive devices such as 'Overall', 'Furthermore', 'On the other hand', and 'While' are used to link ideas. However, the progression of ideas is sometimes mechanical, and there are instances where referencing is unclear or repetitive. For example, the transition between the second and third paragraphs could be smoother. The paragraphing is sufficient, but the internal flow within paragraphs could be improved by varying the sentence structure to avoid a repetitive list-like feel.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The range of vocabulary is adequate for the task, but it is somewhat limited and repetitive. You use basic terms like 'highest number' and 'least number' multiple times. There are also some errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'result with' instead of 'resulted in' and 'per annual' instead of 'per annum' or 'annually'. To improve, try to incorporate more precise vocabulary related to data description, such as 'the most extensive network' or 'the highest volume of passengers'. Spelling errors like 'Kyoyo' and 'estalished' also detract from the overall quality.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
There is a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but the accuracy is inconsistent. You frequently struggle with subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'the earliest underground railway system were established', 'London were the first city') and tense usage (e.g., '1863 years ago' is incorrect phrasing). Additionally, there are errors in pluralization and article usage throughout the text. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to suggest a lack of control over complex structures. Focusing on basic grammatical accuracy and proofreading for subject-verb agreement would significantly improve your score.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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