Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)

The table illustrates data regarding underground railways from six cities in different parts of the world.

Overall, it is evident that London and Paris have the oldest underground railway system, compared to Los Angeles. Passenger travelling per year is highest in Tokyo and Paris.

To begin with, the London underground system is the oldest, which opened in the mid of 19th century. It is also the most extensive with 394 kilometres of route. The railway system in Paris opened in 1900 and 199 kilometres long and serves more passengers. Tokyo's system is the busiest with 1927 million of travellers yearly and have 155 kilometres route.

Regarding the three more modern networks, Washington DC completed in 1976 and has the longest route in comparison, Kyoto has only 11 kilometres of route and the lowest passengers yearly. Moreover, Los Angeles, which opened in 2001, has only 28 kilometres route and serve 50 million passengers per year.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response successfully covers all parts of the task by presenting an overview of the six underground railway systems and selecting key data points to make relevant comparisons. The student identifies the oldest system (London), the one with the highest passenger numbers (Tokyo), and groups the remaining cities logically. In the overview, the student correctly highlights London and Paris as the oldest systems and Tokyo and Paris for having the highest passenger numbers. Data points such as dates of opening, route lengths in kilometers, and annual passenger numbers are accurately reported and contrasted. The information is well selected, and the main features are clearly outlined, fulfilling the requirements for Task 1 effectively.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay displays a clear overall progression and logical organisation. It is divided into an introduction, an overview paragraph, and two body paragraphs that logically divide the older and more modern networks. Cohesive devices such as 'Overall', 'To begin with', and 'Regarding the three more modern networks' are employed to guide the reader through the data. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different categories of comparison. While some transitions are a bit formulaic, the logical flow is maintained throughout the response, ensuring that comparisons between cities remain easy to follow.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for describing statistical data and transport systems, such as 'extensive', 'busiest', 'modern networks', and 'annual'. However, there are minor lexical and collocation slips, such as 'Passenger travelling per year' instead of 'Passenger travel' or 'Passenger numbers', and 'have 155 kilometres route' instead of 'has a route length of 155 kilometres'. Less common vocabulary is attempted with some success, and spelling is generally accurate. The vocabulary choices do not impede communication, allowing the reader to easily grasp the provided data.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as relative clauses ('which opened in the mid of 19th century') and comparative constructions. There are, however, several grammatical errors throughout the text, including subject-verb agreement issues ('Tokyo's system is the busiest... and have 155 kilometres route'), missing prepositions ('in the mid of 19th century' instead of 'in the mid-19th century'), and awkward phrasing ('Washington DC completed in 1976' instead of 'was completed'). Despite these errors, the sentence structures remain mostly clear and do not impede the overall communication of the data.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.