Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-09-12

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 demonstrates the information about the systems of underground railways in six different cities in different years. Overall, it is noticeable that the highest number of passengers recorded in Paris, whereas Kyoto and Los Angeles had the lowest passengers rate in underground railway systems.

Turning to the details, in 1900, 1191 millions passengers were recorded in Paris. It covered the 394 kilometers of route. Similarly, London had the highest kilometers of route was 394 km and contained 775 millions passengers in 1863. In addition, Tokyo and Washington DC accounted for 1927 and 144 millions passengers respectively. The trains covered 155 and 126 kilometers of route in both cities in 1927 and 1976. Lastly, Kyoto and Los Angeles experienced the lowest number of passengers, having 45 and 50 millions passengers, with less number of routes covered in 1981 and 2001. In conclusion, Kyoto and Los Angeles witnessed the lowest underground railway systems as compared to other cities.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The student attempts to cover all parts of the prompt by presenting an overview and selecting key data points from the table, such as mentioning Paris, London, Kyoto, and Los Angeles. However, there are significant factual inaccuracies in data reporting. For instance, the student states that the highest number of passengers was recorded in Paris, whereas the table clearly shows Tokyo had the highest number of passengers (1927 million compared to Paris's 1191 million). Furthermore, London opened in 1863 with 394 km of route, but the student mistakenly attributes 394 km to Paris as well in a confusing manner. The overview contains a slight misinterpretation regarding Tokyo's figures. Because of these data misinterpretations and inaccurate reporting, the task response falls into the Band 5.5 range.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response is divided into an introduction, body, and conclusion, showing basic paragraphing structure. Cohesive devices such as 'Overall', 'Turning to the details', 'In addition', 'Lastly', and 'In conclusion' are employed to guide the reader through the text. However, referencing and cohesion are sometimes faulty or mechanical. For example, the sentence 'Similarly, London had the highest kilometers of route was 394 km' exhibits awkward phrasing and poor clause connection. Progression within the body paragraph is occasionally muddled due to mixing dates, passenger numbers, and route lengths across different cities without clear comparative markers. Overall arrangement is coherent enough to follow, matching the Band 6 descriptors.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The lexical range is adequate for completing the task, utilising vocabulary related to data reporting such as 'demonstrates', 'recorded', 'accounted for', and 'experienced'. However, there are notable collocation errors and awkward word formations throughout the text. Examples include 'lowest passengers rate' (instead of passenger rate), '1191 millions passengers' (incorrect pluralisation with numbers), and 'less number of routes' (instead of fewer routes). Despite these inaccuracies, communication is not severely impeded, and the vocabulary used is sufficient for a Band 5.5 performance.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as 'In conclusion, Kyoto and Los Angeles witnessed the lowest underground railway systems as compared to other cities.' However, grammatical accuracy is weak, with frequent errors in verb forms, prepositions, and relative clauses. Examples of errors include 'highest kilometers of route was 394 km' (unnecessary 'was'), 'Tokyo and Washington DC accounted for 1927 and 144 millions passengers respectively' (missing unit context or awkward plural), and mixing up past simple verbs where passive voice or present tense might be more appropriate. These frequent errors can cause occasional difficulty for the reader, fitting the Band 5.5 profile.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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