Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

The given table gives information about the underground railway systems and its opening date in six cities. In table data is given about the kilometers of route and passengers travel with that railway per year in millions.

First city is London, which was open on the year 1863 and it has a route of 394 KM while 775 million people travel through this route. Paris which is one of the most visited city has opened in 1900 which runs 199 KM with 1191 million pasengers. In tokyo railways was opened at 1927 with route of 155 KM and takes 1927 million passengers, which is the highest from any other city. Washington DC was opened at 1976 runs 126 KM with 144 million passengers. Kyoto was opened in year 1981 and has a route of 11 KM which is the least km among 6 cities, has 45 million passenger as it is also a lowest passengers among other cities.

In year 2001 Los Angeles was opened with the route of 28KM with 50 million passengers. In conclusion, the biggest route is of london while in cmparison with other route such as paris and tokya that has more passengers. Kyoto and Los Angeles has minimal difference with five million passengers.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response covers all key information presented in the table, including the date opened, route kilometers, and annual passenger numbers for all six cities. The student successfully identifies major features and makes relevant comparisons, such as noting that Tokyo has the highest passenger volume (1927 million) and Kyoto has the shortest route (11 km) and lowest passenger count (45 million). However, the overview is somewhat fragmented and lacks a cohesive synthesis of the main trends at the beginning or end of the text. While the summary is generally accurate in reporting the data, the lack of a clear, overarching summary places this response firmly in Band 5.5 to 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The text is organized into logical paragraphs, with an introduction, body paragraphs detailing the cities, and a concluding sentence. However, the progression within the body paragraphs is mechanical, listing data city-by-city without smooth transitions. Cohesive devices are basic and sometimes repetitive or awkwardly placed, such as starting consecutive sentences with city names or simple conjunctions ('First city is London...', 'Paris which is one of the most visited city...'). Paragraphing is attempted, but the internal cohesion of the body paragraph is overly listing-like. Referencing is occasionally unclear, leading to a choppy reading experience. This aligns with Band 5.5 to 6.0 descriptors.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, allowing the student to communicate basic data such as 'kilometers of route', 'passengers per year', and 'opened'. There are several word choice and spelling inaccuracies, such as 'tokyo' (capitalization), 'pasengers' (spelling), and awkward phrasing like 'travel with that railway per year'. The student attempts some less common vocabulary ('minimal difference', 'highest from any other city'), but these attempts lack precision and natural collocation. Vocabulary errors do not severely impede communication, but they restrict the score to a Band 5.5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as relative clauses ('Paris which is one of the most visited city has opened...'). However, grammatical accuracy is weak throughout the text. There are notable errors in subject-verb agreement and tense usage, including 'was open on the year 1863', 'railways was opened at 1927', 'Kyoto and Los Angeles has', and missing prepositions or articles. Punctuation is also faulty, particularly with commas around relative clauses and compound sentences. Because attempts at complex structures frequently result in errors, this warrants a Band 5.0.

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