Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-09-07
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 tabular chart illustrates the underground railway systems in six different cities.
From an overview, It is evident that the highest number of passengers using the railway system was in Tokyo, while Kyoto was the least prefered City . Where railway system was used.
It is clearly seen that the railway system established in 1927 and it used by 1927 million people for 155 Kilometer. Paris was the second highest city, where the railway transport system opened in 1900 and highly utilize by pessengers for 1191 million. In 1863, 775 million passengers of London city were consumed 394 kilometer route.
Moving towards the rest of the information, 144 million individuals made use of the rail system in washington DC for 126 kilometer, while only 45 million people used it in Kyoto by 11 kilometer. Train network introduced in in los angels in 2001 and
50 million of people used it.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0
The response covers all the data points provided in the table, including the date opened, route length, and passenger numbers. You have successfully identified the main features, such as Tokyo having the highest passenger volume and Kyoto having the shortest route. However, the comparison is somewhat mechanical, listing data city-by-city rather than grouping them by trends or significant differences. To improve, try to synthesize the information more effectively by grouping the older, larger systems (London, Paris) against the newer, smaller ones (Kyoto, Los Angeles) to provide a more analytical overview.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organized into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the information. However, the progression of ideas is occasionally disjointed. For example, the sentence 'Where railway system was used' is a fragment that disrupts the flow. While you use some cohesive devices like 'Moving towards the rest of the information', the transition between the overview and the body paragraphs is abrupt. The final sentence is also incomplete, which negatively impacts the overall coherence of the response. Ensure that each sentence is a complete thought and that transitions between paragraphs are smoother.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
Your vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, but there are several instances of awkward word choice and spelling errors. For example, you used 'prefered' (preferred), 'pessengers' (passengers), and 'highly utilize' (highly utilized). Additionally, the phrase 'passengers of London city were consumed 394 kilometer route' is unnatural and inaccurate in its usage of 'consumed'. To reach a higher band, focus on using more precise terminology for data reporting, such as 'accounted for', 'surpassed', or 'commenced operations', and ensure your spelling is accurate.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. Issues include incorrect verb tenses (e.g., 'it used by 1927 million people'), subject-verb agreement, and punctuation errors (e.g., 'In 1863, 775 million passengers of London city were consumed 394 kilometer route'). The final sentence is incomplete, which is a significant error. You need to focus on basic sentence construction and proofreading to ensure that your verbs and prepositions are used correctly in the context of describing historical data.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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