Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-09-04
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 5.5)
The table provides information about the underground railway systems in different cities, by the year they started and the distance of their routes in kilometers and the number of passengers using these stations yearly.
Overall london has the oldest and longest underground railway system, but Los Angeles has the newest having a route of just 28 kilometers . While the shortest route we got here is of kyoto city . The city with the most number of passengers using the underground railway system is Tokyo, having 1927 million passengers.
London's underground system which started in 1863, has the longest route while in second place we got Paris having a route of 199 kilometers with a huge number of passengers and than we got Tokyo having a route of 155 kilometers and highest numbers of passengers attending the station.
The other 3 stations are considerably smaller and have low amount of passengers with Kyoto having the shortest route, and the least number of passengers with only 45 million passengers yearly.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response covers all key features of the data, including the oldest/longest systems and the passenger volume comparisons. However, the analysis is somewhat superficial. For example, while you mention Tokyo has the most passengers, you do not explicitly contrast this with the fact that it does not have the longest route, which would have strengthened the comparison. The overview is clear, but the grouping of data could be more analytical rather than just listing facts. The report meets the requirements of the task but lacks the depth of insight required for a higher band.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, and there is a clear progression of ideas. You use some cohesive devices like 'While', 'Overall', and 'The other 3 stations', which help the flow. However, the referencing is occasionally repetitive, and some transitions feel a bit mechanical. The use of 'we got' is too informal for an academic report. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring that each paragraph has a clear thematic focus would improve the coherence of the response.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, but it lacks the precision and range expected at higher levels. Phrases like 'we got' and 'huge number' are informal and imprecise. You rely on basic descriptors such as 'longest', 'shortest', and 'most number'. To improve, you should incorporate more sophisticated terminology related to data description, such as 'extensive', 'minimal', 'surpass', or 'proportionally'. There are no major spelling errors, but the range of vocabulary is limited to common, everyday language.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are several grammatical inaccuracies, such as 'the most number of passengers' (should be 'the highest number') and 'than we got Tokyo' (should be 'then there is Tokyo'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with comma usage. The errors do not significantly impede communication, but they are frequent enough to prevent a higher score. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and more accurate sentence construction would be beneficial.
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.