Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-09-01
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 given information show the railways underground system of 6 different cities.
The provided data include railway system of 6 cities London, Paris, Tokyo, Washington DC, Kyoto and Los angeles. Their opening date, Kilometers of route mean total distance and the millions of passenger per year.
The city with most highest numbers of passengers is Tokyo which is open in 1927 around 1927 million peoples travel throw under ground train. Total track consist of 155 km. The city with lowest numbers of passengers is Kyoto. Kyoto underground railway system opened in 1981. The track consist of 11 km 45 million people use this service in Kyoto. If we talk about london railway system which is opened in 1863 with total track of 394 km, Almost 775 million people use railway in london. People of Paris use their railway facility which introduced in 1900 with track of 199 km. 1191 million people use railway in paris. In Tokyo the system of underground railway lauch in 1927 with route of 155 km 1927 million people use railway in tokyo in one year. Los angeles have railway system with total route of 28 km which is opened in 2001 around 50 million people use railway in one year.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response covers all the required data points, including the cities, dates, route lengths, and passenger numbers. However, the report lacks a clear overview or summary of the main trends, which is a requirement for a high band score. The information is presented in a somewhat repetitive, list-like fashion rather than being synthesized into a coherent comparison. While the key features are identified, the lack of an analytical summary and the failure to group the data logically (e.g., comparing the oldest vs. newest systems or the busiest vs. least busy) limits the effectiveness of the response.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0
The response is organized into a brief introduction and a body paragraph. However, the lack of paragraphing to separate different aspects of the data makes the text feel dense and difficult to follow. Cohesive devices are used in a very mechanical and repetitive way, such as starting multiple sentences with 'The city with...' or 'In [City]...'. There is a lack of logical progression between sentences, and the overall structure is quite basic, which hinders the flow of information.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The vocabulary is adequate for the task but remains quite limited and repetitive. Phrases like 'most highest numbers' (which is grammatically incorrect) and 'use railway' are used repeatedly. There is little attempt to use a wider range of vocabulary to describe trends or comparisons (e.g., 'surpassed,' 'accounted for,' 'the oldest system'). Spelling errors such as 'lauch' instead of 'launched' and 'peoples' instead of 'people' are present, though they do not significantly impede communication.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The response relies heavily on simple sentence structures. There are frequent grammatical errors, such as 'The given information show' (subject-verb agreement), 'which is open in 1927' (tense error), and 'most highest' (double superlative). Punctuation is also inconsistent, with some sentences lacking proper capitalization or ending abruptly. While the meaning is generally clear, the lack of complex sentence structures and the frequency of basic grammatical errors prevent the response from reaching a higher band.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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