Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-08-21
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 compares the underground railway systems around the world in terms of their opening dates, total length of route and number of travellers per year in millions.
Overall, it is evident that older systems generally have extensive network of routes, whereas some newer or moderately aged routes carry significantly high passenger volumes.
London possesses the oldest underground system dating back to 1863, and boasts the longest route at 394 kilometres, serving 775 million passengers annually.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 4.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.0
The response is significantly under the 150-word minimum requirement, which severely limits your ability to report the main features and make comparisons. You have only covered a small portion of the data provided in the table, specifically focusing on London. To achieve a higher band, you must include all six cities and provide a more comprehensive analysis of the data, such as comparing the passenger volumes of Tokyo and Paris against their route lengths. Because the response is incomplete and fails to meet the length requirement, it cannot be awarded a score higher than 4.0.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0
The response is too short to demonstrate a full range of cohesive devices or effective paragraphing. While the introduction and the start of the overview are clear, the lack of a body paragraph structure means there is no logical progression of ideas. The transition between the overview and the single body paragraph is abrupt. To improve, you should group the data into logical categories (e.g., older vs. newer systems) and use linking words like 'in contrast,' 'furthermore,' or 'whereas' to connect your comparisons.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is generally accurate and appropriate for the task, such as 'extensive network,' 'passenger volumes,' and 'annually.' However, the range is limited due to the brevity of the text. There is no evidence of less common lexical items or sophisticated collocations that would demonstrate a higher level of proficiency. To improve, try to incorporate more varied vocabulary to describe trends and statistics, such as 'surpass,' 'minimal,' 'substantial,' or 'proportionate.'
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The grammar in the provided sentences is accurate, and you have successfully used a complex sentence structure in the overview ('Overall, it is evident that...'). However, the limited length prevents you from demonstrating a wide range of structures. The few sentences present are error-free, but a higher band requires a consistent mix of simple and complex structures throughout a full-length essay. Focus on expanding your writing to include more varied sentence types, such as passive voice or relative clauses, while maintaining this level of accuracy.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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