Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-09-11

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 6.5)

The data table illustrates the information on underground railway systems of six countries: London, Paris, Tokyo, Washington DC, Kyoto, and Los Angles, the year of its commencement, route in kilometers, number of passengers per year in millions from 1863 to 2001.

Overall, the underground railway systems first took place in London and at last in Los Angles. Although Tokyo and Paris recorded the highest number of passengers, Kyoto not only accounted for the least number of passengers but also the lowest distance covered in kms.

In 1863, London witnessed its first underground railway systems for passengers, it travelled the longest distance about 394 kilometers. Every year it carried almost 775 million passengers. The Los Angles started its underground railways quiet late, in 2001, which took only 50 million passengers per year and covered the distance around 28 kilometers. But Kyoto remained the only country, whose underground railway systems travelled just 11 kms and accounted for around 45 million passengers per year.

In contrast, Tokyo and Paris commenced its underground railway systems in 1927 and 1900, by covering the distance approximately half to the London, 155 kms and 199 kms respectively. Despite of the short distance than to London, the number of passengers Tokyo 1927 million and Paris 1191 million, who travelled via underground railways, were significantly higher than than any other country. Furthermore, Washington DC started its underground railway systems in 1976, travelling for 126 kms with passengers around 144 million per year.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The response covers all key features of the data, including the dates, route lengths, and passenger numbers for all six cities. You successfully identified the oldest and newest systems, as well as the extremes in terms of passenger volume and distance. The overview is clear and provides a good summary of the main trends. However, there are some minor inaccuracies in data reporting, such as stating Tokyo has 1927 million passengers (the table shows 1927 as the year opened, while the passenger count is 1927 million, which is correct, but the phrasing is slightly confusing). Overall, the task is well-addressed with relevant comparisons made throughout.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The essay is logically organized into an introduction, an overview, and two body paragraphs. The progression of ideas is clear, moving from the oldest/newest systems to a comparison of the remaining cities. You use a range of cohesive devices such as 'In contrast,' 'Although,' and 'Furthermore' to link ideas. However, some transitions are slightly mechanical, and there are occasional issues with referencing, such as referring to cities as 'countries' in the first paragraph. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different groups of data, which helps the reader follow the comparison.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You demonstrate a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey the information clearly. Phrases like 'commencement,' 'accounted for,' and 'witnessed its first' show a good attempt at academic register. There are some minor errors in word choice, such as referring to cities as 'countries' and the phrase 'took place' to describe the opening of a railway system, which is slightly unnatural. Spelling is generally accurate, though 'Los Angles' is misspelled throughout. The vocabulary is adequate for the task, but more precise collocations would elevate the score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While many sentences are clear, there are several grammatical slips, such as 'Despite of the short distance than to London' (should be 'Despite the shorter distance compared to London') and 'The Los Angles started' (unnecessary article). Punctuation is generally functional, but there are some comma splices, such as in the third paragraph: '...for passengers, it travelled...'. These errors do not impede communication, but they indicate a need for more careful proofreading of complex structures.

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