Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-09-14

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 7.0)

The table chart illustrates information regarding the underground railway systems in six cities. It is noticeable that London has by far the oldest and longest underground railway system, while Los Angeles is the newest. In terms of annual passenger numbers, Tokyo has the highest figure, whereas Kyoto has the fewest passengers.

Turning to the details, the underground railway in London was opened in 1863, making it the oldest of the six systems. It also has the longest route, at 394 kitometers, and serves approximately 775 milion passengers per year. Paris's system, which began operating in 1900, has a route length of 199 kilometers and carries the second highest number of passengers, at 1,191 million annually. Tokoy's railway opened in 1927 and has a considerably shorter route of 155 kilometers, but it has the highest passenger figure, at 1,927 million.

Furthermore, Washington DC opened in 1976, has 126 kilometers of track and serves 144 milloin passengers annualy. Kyoto's system, which started in 1981, is by far the shortest, with only 11 kilometers of route, and it carries just 45 million passengers each year. Finally, Los Angeles, the newest system, opened in 2001 and has 28 kilometers of track, serving 50 million passengers annually.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The response effectively covers all parts of the task by providing a clear overview and selecting the main features of the table, such as identifying London as the oldest and longest system, Tokyo as having the highest passenger numbers, and Los Angeles as the newest. Key data points like route lengths, opening dates, and annual passenger figures are accurately reported and appropriately compared throughout the text. The selection of data is well-judged, highlighting significant extremes without listing every single number indiscriminately. This fulfills the requirements of a Band 7 or higher for Task Achievement, presenting a clear and fully developed summary of the provided data.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.5

The essay displays a clear logical organisation and progression throughout. It begins with an effective introductory summary paragraph that outlines the key trends. The body paragraphs are logically structured, grouping the data efficiently—for instance, the first body paragraph discusses London, Paris, and Tokyo, while the second covers Washington DC, Kyoto, and Los Angeles. Cohesive devices such as 'Turning to the details', 'Furthermore', and 'Finally' are used appropriately to guide the reader through the data. Paragraphing is used sufficiently and effectively. Minor awkwardness in sequencing is absent, making the text easy to follow from start to finish.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates a sufficient range of vocabulary with good flexibility and precision, using appropriate terms related to data reporting such as 'illustrates information', 'annual passenger numbers', 'route length', and 'comparatively'. However, there are a few spelling slips that prevent a higher band, specifically 'kitometers' instead of 'kilometers', 'milion' instead of 'million', 'Tokoy's' instead of 'Tokyo's', and 'annualy' instead of 'annually'. Despite these occasional typographical errors, the vocabulary used is suitable for an academic task and successfully conveys the comparative data.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

The response features a good mix of simple and complex sentence structures, including relative clauses such as 'which began operating in 1900' and 'which started in 1981'. The grammatical control is generally strong, with many error-free sentences correctly utilizing past and present tenses for historical dates and current statistics. Punctuation is handled well, and sentence boundaries are clear. The minor spelling errors noted under lexical resource do not heavily detract from grammatical accuracy, and the structures employed demonstrate a solid command of English grammar suitable for Band 7.

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