Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-08-22

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 6.0)

The table illustrates the information about the underground railway systems in six cities, including their opening dates, route length in kilometers, and the number of passengers per year, measured in millions.

Overall, it is evident that the London railway system is the oldest , has the longest length, whereas the Los Angeles railway system is the newest. In terms of annual passengers, Tokyo recorded the highest number, while Kyoto had the lowest number.

In detail, the London railway system was opened in 1863, has a route length of 394 kilometers, and carries 775 million passengers per year. In contrast, the Paris railway system was opened in 1900, has a route length of 199 kilometers, and transports 1191 millions passengers per year. Tokyo was established in 1927, has a route length of 155 kilometers, and totaled 1927 million passengers per year.

The Washington DC railway system was opened in 1976. It has a route length of 126 kilometers, and it serves 144 million passengers per year.

The Kyoto railway station was constructed in 1981, has a route length of 11 kilometers, and transports 45 million passengers per year. The Los Angeles was opened in 2001, has a long route of 28 kilometers. The railway system is used by 50 passengers per year.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response covers all the requirements of the task. You have successfully identified the main features and made relevant comparisons between the cities. The overview is clear and highlights the key trends, such as London being the oldest and Tokyo having the highest passenger volume. However, the report is largely a list of data points for each city. To reach a higher band, you should focus more on grouping the data to make meaningful comparisons rather than describing each city in isolation. For example, you could group the cities by their opening dates or passenger volume to create a more analytical summary.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The response is logically organized with a clear introduction, overview, and body paragraphs. You use some cohesive devices such as 'In contrast' and 'whereas' to link ideas. However, the paragraphing is slightly uneven, and the transition between the description of the cities could be smoother. The final paragraph is a bit fragmented, with short, simple sentences that make the flow feel somewhat mechanical. Using a wider variety of linking words and ensuring that each paragraph has a clear thematic focus would improve the overall cohesion of the report.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'illustrates', 'recorded', and 'transports'. There are some minor inaccuracies, such as 'totaled 1927 million passengers', which is slightly unnatural in this context. Additionally, you missed the unit 'millions' in the final sentence regarding Los Angeles, which is a significant error as it implies only 50 people use the system. To improve, try to use more precise collocations and ensure that units of measurement are consistently applied throughout the text.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the grammar is generally clear, there are some errors, such as 'The Los Angeles was opened', where the article is unnecessary, and 'has a long route of 28 kilometers', which is slightly awkward phrasing. There are also some punctuation issues, such as the space before the comma in 'oldest ,'. While these errors do not impede communication, they prevent the response from reaching a higher band. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and article usage will help improve your accuracy.

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.