Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-09-08
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 below depict the information about underground railway systems in London, Paris, Tokyo, Washington DC, Kyoto and Los Angeles.
Overall, it can be observed that London had the oldest railway system back in 1863, whereas Los Angeles opened the latest one in 2001. While, London counted with the most extensive kilometers of route, Kyoto remained as the least use. Conversely, Tokyo presented the highest amount of people.
London opened their railways in 1863, using 394 kilometers with almost 775 million, whereas passengers from L.A reached to 50 million from its opening in 2001. By contrast, Kyoto opened its railway systems in 2001, using just 28 kilometers with 45 million of passengers.
Tokyo presented the highest number of passengers by 1927 with 1927 million of people with almost 155 kilometres of route.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The response fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 150 words, which significantly impacts the ability to fully develop the response. While you have identified the main features, such as the oldest and newest systems and the extremes in passenger numbers, the analysis is incomplete. Several data points are misstated or confused (e.g., Kyoto opened in 1981, not 2001; Los Angeles opened in 2001, not Kyoto). The summary is too brief to provide a comprehensive overview of the data provided in the table, leading to an under-developed response.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The response is organised into paragraphs, and there is a basic attempt at logical progression. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat mechanical and occasionally inaccurate, such as the misuse of 'While' and 'Conversely' to introduce comparisons. The referencing is sometimes unclear, and the transition between the overview and the body paragraphs is abrupt. The structure is functional but lacks the sophistication required for higher bands, and the overall flow is hindered by the brevity of the text.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The range of vocabulary is adequate for the task but remains quite basic. There are instances of awkward phrasing, such as 'counted with the most extensive kilometers' and 'least use'. You also repeat the word 'opened' and 'railway systems' frequently. To improve, you should aim for more precise collocations and a wider variety of descriptive verbs and nouns to avoid repetition and improve the clarity of your comparisons.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors. Examples include 'The table below depict' (subject-verb agreement), '45 million of passengers' (incorrect prepositional phrase), and 'Tokyo presented the highest number of passengers by 1927' (incorrect use of 'by'). While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to suggest a lack of control over more complex grammatical forms.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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