Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-08-24

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 tabular data illustrates that how the subways system worked in six different states (London, Paris, Tokyo, Washington DC, Kyoto, Los Angeles). The distance has measured in kilometer and passengers are calculater in millions.

Overall, London had longest railway route compared to others, while Kyoto had shortest route. A significant number of individuals traveled in Tokyo, whereas Kyoto had lowest number of passengers.

In detail, London underground railway system opened in 1863 and it had longest route of 394 KM and per year 775 million people traveled through this. Paris have 2nd longest way of 199 KM and also 2nd most traveled passengers at 1191 millions travellers. Addition, Tokoyo underground subway opened in 1927 and it had highest passengers per year at 1927 millions.

However, Kyoto had the lowest number of traveller and shortest route compared to other cities at 11 KM and only 45 million individuals per year. Los Angeles had 2nd lowest passanger, moreover 2nd shortest path of the railway. Washington DC underground railway estamblished in 1976, and it has 126 KM long pathway, and only 144 million passengers traveled yearly.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response covers all key features of the table, including the dates, route lengths, and passenger numbers. You successfully identified the extremes, such as London having the longest route and Tokyo having the highest passenger volume. However, the analysis is somewhat descriptive and lacks a more sophisticated synthesis of the data. For instance, while you mention the dates, you do not explicitly contrast the older systems with the more modern ones (e.g., London vs. Los Angeles) to highlight the relationship between age and infrastructure development. To reach a higher band, ensure that comparisons are more analytical rather than just listing the figures for each city.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, with an introduction, an overview, and two body paragraphs. The use of cohesive devices such as 'Overall', 'In detail', 'However', and 'moreover' helps guide the reader through the information. However, some transitions are slightly mechanical or awkward, such as 'Addition, Tokoyo...' which should be 'In addition, Tokyo...'. Additionally, the referencing is occasionally unclear, and the flow between sentences could be smoother. The paragraphing is appropriate, but the internal cohesion within the paragraphs needs more variety to avoid repetitive sentence structures.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You have a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey the information, using terms like 'tabular data', 'illustrates', and 'significant number'. However, there are several spelling errors ('calculater', 'Tokoyo', 'passanger', 'estamblished') and some awkward word choices, such as 'subways system' instead of 'subway systems' and 'way' instead of 'route'. These errors do not impede communication, but they do limit the score. To improve, focus on accurate spelling and using more precise collocations related to data reporting, such as 'the highest number of passengers' rather than 'highest passengers'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with subject-verb agreement ('Paris have', 'Kyoto had lowest') and article usage ('the longest', 'the shortest'). Some sentences are also slightly ungrammatical, such as 'The distance has measured in kilometer', which should be passive voice ('The distance is measured in kilometers'). While the meaning is generally clear, the frequency of these errors prevents a higher score. You should focus on proofreading for basic tense consistency and pluralization to improve your accuracy.

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

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