Band 8.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 8.0 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-08-29

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 8.0)

The table compares six underground railway systems in terms of the year they opened, the length of their routes and the number of passenger they carry anually.

Overall, London has the oldest and longest underground railway system, while Los Angeles has the newest one. In terms of passenger numbers, Tokyo has the highest figure, whereas Kyoto has the lowest. It is also noticeable that the three older systems generally carry far more passengers than the three newer ones.

London's underground system is by far the longest, at 394 kilometres, which is almost twice the length of the Paris network, at 199 kilometres. Despite having the second-longest route, Paris carries considerably more passengers than London, with 1,191 million compared with 775 million annually. Tokyo has a shorter route of 155 kilometres, but it records the highest passenger figure, at 1,927 million per year.

The remaining three systems are considerably smaller and newer. Washington DC's network opened in 1976 and extends for 126 kilometres, carrying 144 million passengers annually. Kyoto's system, which began operating in 1981, is the shortest, at just 11 kilometres, and has the lowest passenger figure, at 45 million. Los Angeles has the newest system, opening in 2001, and its 28-kilometre route carries 50 million passengers per year.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 8.0

The response is excellent. You have successfully identified and reported the main features of the table, including the oldest/newest systems and the contrast between route length and passenger volume. You have made relevant comparisons, such as noting that while London has the longest route, Tokyo carries the most passengers. The overview is clear and effectively highlights the key trends. All data points are accurately represented, and the response fully addresses the requirements of the prompt by summarizing the information provided in the table.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.5

The response is logically organized with a clear introduction, an overview, and two body paragraphs that group the data effectively (older vs. newer systems). Cohesive devices are used naturally, such as 'In terms of', 'whereas', 'despite having', and 'the remaining three'. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the different categories of information. The flow of ideas is smooth, and the progression from general trends to specific details is logical and easy to follow.

Lexical Resource — Band 7.5

You demonstrate a good range of vocabulary appropriate for an Academic Task 1 report. Phrases like 'records the highest passenger figure', 'began operating', and 'extends for' are used accurately. The vocabulary is precise and contributes to the clarity of the report. There are no significant errors in word choice or collocation. To reach the highest band, you could incorporate even more sophisticated synonyms for 'highest' or 'lowest' or more varied ways to describe statistical trends.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 8.0

The writing is highly accurate with a variety of complex sentence structures. You effectively use relative clauses ('which began operating in 1981') and comparative structures ('almost twice the length of', 'considerably more passengers than'). Punctuation is used correctly throughout. There are virtually no grammatical errors, and the control over sentence construction is strong. The response is error-free, which demonstrates a high level of grammatical competence.

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

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