Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-09-16

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 5.0)

The given pie chart demonstrates that information regarding the underground railway systems which contributes in six various cities of Europe.

Overall, the routes in London was the highest point 394 kilometers in and passengers per year over 775 millions in 1863 approximately, while the routes in Kyoto has been the lowest point 11 kilometers and passengers per year 45 millions in 1981. In addition, the routes in Tokyo and Washington DC are similar while the ratio of passengers per year in between is very huge difference.

Furthermore, the railway station in Tokyo open late about 1927, during this period the range of routes 155 kilometers and passengers rate is very high about 1927 millons while, the railway station in London open early in 1863 and the ratio of routes was very excellent but the passengers has been less over 775 millions. Eventully, Los Angeles and Kyoto became very least range both routes and passengers.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response attempts to summarise the table detailing underground railway systems across six cities, but it misidentifies the stimulus as a pie chart in the opening sentence ('The given pie chart demonstrates that information...'). While some key features such as London's route length and Tokyo's passenger numbers are mentioned, the reporting is inaccurate in places. For instance, the student states that passengers in London reached 'over 775 millions in 1863 approximately', whereas 1863 was the date opened and 775 million is the annual passenger count. Similarly, 'passengers rate is very high about 1927 millons' conflates the opening year with the passenger volume for Tokyo (1,927 million). These errors in data extraction and interpretation prevent the response from fully addressing the task, placing it at a Band 5.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The text is organised into three paragraphs, including an introduction and body paragraphs. However, the logical progression is hindered by frequent inaccuracies and confusing referencing. Cohesive devices are attempted ('Overall', 'In addition', 'Furthermore', 'Eventully'), but their use is sometimes mechanical or inappropriate given the flawed data links. Paragraphing is present, but the internal flow of ideas is disjointed, particularly in the final paragraph where multiple cities are lumped together with vague comparisons ('Los Angeles and Kyoto became very least range both routes and passengers'). Overall coherence is affected by the misinterpretation of the source material, resulting in a Band 5 performance.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is basic and repetitive, frequently relying on simple terms like 'routes', 'passengers', 'high', and 'low'. There are noticeable lexical errors and awkward word choices, such as calling the highest route length 'the highest point 394 kilometers' and referring to the railway station as opening 'late about 1927'. Furthermore, the misuse of 'pie chart' instead of 'table' demonstrates a limitation in task-specific vocabulary. Less common vocabulary is attempted with significant inaccuracy, causing some difficulty for the reader and aligning the response with Band 5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response contains a mix of simple and attempted complex sentence structures, but grammatical accuracy is weak. There are numerous grammatical and syntactic errors throughout the text, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('the routes in London was', 'the routes in Kyoto has been', 'the railway station... open late'), missing prepositions ('kilometers in'), and awkward phrasing ('the ratio of routes was very excellent'). Punctuation and spelling are generally functional, but frequent errors in basic sentence construction cause strain for the reader, fitting the Band 5 descriptor.

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