Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-08-26

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 6.5)

The table here convey us information about the underground railway systems in six cities. It compares these cities based on three parameters namely date opened, kilometers of route and passengers per year.

Overall, we can understand that there are highest passengers per year in Tokyo and lowest in Kyoto out of given cities. The longest route in kilometers is of London and the shortest is of Kyoto.

Historically, The London railway system was inaugurated in the year 1863 while Los Angeles is open in 2001, latest of the given cities. Paris had opened its railway in 1900 after London of route of 199 kilometers for accompanying around 1191 million passengers per year. Tokyo has passengers more than double of London while having 199 kilometers which is less than half of London route.

Moreover, The Kyoto and Los Angeles have almost similar passengers per year about 50 million but Los Angeles have significantly longer route than Kyoto. Washington DC have 144 million passengers per year while having 126- kilometer- long route.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response covers all key features of the data, including the oldest/newest systems, the longest/shortest routes, and the highest/lowest passenger numbers. The overview is clear and highlights the main trends effectively. However, there are some inaccuracies in the data reporting; for instance, you state Tokyo has 199 km of route, but the table shows 155 km. Additionally, the comparison between Tokyo and London regarding route length and passenger numbers is slightly confusingly phrased. To reach a higher band, ensure that all data points are transcribed accurately from the table and that comparisons are logically structured to avoid ambiguity.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organized into an introduction, an overview, and two body paragraphs. The progression of ideas is generally clear. You use some cohesive devices such as 'Historically', 'Moreover', and 'while', which help link ideas. However, the referencing is occasionally mechanical, and some transitions feel slightly abrupt. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the historical data from the current operational statistics. To improve, focus on using a wider variety of cohesive devices to create a smoother flow between sentences and ensure that the relationship between the data points is more explicitly stated.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing you to convey the necessary information. You use some topic-specific terms like 'inaugurated', 'parameters', and 'railway systems'. However, there are some awkward collocations and word choices, such as 'The table here convey us' (should be 'conveys information to us') and 'accompanying' (which is not the best fit for passenger numbers). There is also a lack of variety in reporting verbs. To achieve a higher score, try to incorporate more precise academic vocabulary and ensure that word choices are natural and contextually appropriate.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('The table... convey', 'Los Angeles have', 'Washington DC have') and article usage errors ('The London railway', 'of route of 199 kilometers'). While these errors do not prevent the reader from understanding the message, they are frequent enough to impact the overall fluency. To improve, pay closer attention to subject-verb agreement and the correct use of articles and prepositions. Increasing the variety of complex sentence structures while maintaining accuracy will also help raise your score.

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

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