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)

This table compares the six different cities underground railway systems, in terms of year they opened there were actual start operations, length of the routes and the number of passengers they served annually .Overall, London railway system is considered the oldest and longest among the six cities. In contrast, Kyoto and Los Angeles have the newest and smallest routes. Whereas, Paris and Tokyo served large number of passengers.

In 1863, London opened underground system which is quite old and the longest route, extended 394kilometers. Despite that, it serves only 775 Million passengers yearly, which is considerably fewer than Paris and Tokyo. The Paris underground railway opened in 1900, and has a 199km route. It carries approx. 1191 million passengers per year.

Tokyo's system was established in 1927 and has relatively shorter route 155 kilometers. However, it recorded the highest number of passengers, 1927 million per year. Washington DC, opened its railway quite late, In 1976 and covers 126 kilometers route and serving 144 Million passengers annually.

The two newest underground systems Kyoto and Los Angeles. Kyoto opened railway system in 1981, covers 11 kilometers which is the shortest route among all cities. It carries only 45 million each year . Los Angeles opened underground railway in 2001, has slightly longer route 28 Km and carry 50 Million passengers yearly. Thus, both the routes are smaller and less heavily used as compared to the older networks London, Paris and Tokyo.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The student successfully addresses all parts of the task by reporting the main features of the table, including dates opened, route lengths, and annual passenger numbers. Clear comparisons are made throughout the response, such as noting that London is the oldest and longest system while Kyoto and Los Angeles are the newest and smallest. Key data points are accurately selected and contrasted, for example, comparing Tokyo's massive passenger volume of 1,927 million with Washington DC's 144 million. The overview in the first paragraph effectively captures the most salient trends. The response covers all required aspects comprehensively, earning a strong band score.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The response is logically organised into four distinct paragraphs, starting with a clear introductory overview and following a structured progression through the data. Cohesive devices are used reasonably well, such as "In contrast", "Despite that", and "However", which help connect ideas between sentences and paragraphs. However, there are minor cohesion and punctuation glitches, such as missing conjunctions or awkward linking in phrases like "The two newest underground systems Kyoto and Los Angeles." Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate cities into logical groups, but referencing and flow could be slightly smoother for a higher band.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, demonstrating an attempt to incorporate less common lexical items such as "annually", "considerably", "established", and "heavily used". However, there are noticeable lexical inaccuracies and awkward phrasing, such as "cities underground railway systems" instead of "cities' underground railway systems", and "extended 394kilometers" lacking a preposition. Some word choices are slightly repetitive or imprecise, but the vocabulary remains sufficient to communicate the information clearly without impeding the reader's understanding.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, incorporating relative clauses and introductory prepositional phrases (e.g., "Despite that, it serves only 775 Million passengers yearly"). However, there are several grammatical errors and punctuation slips throughout the text, including missing prepositions ("opened underground system", "covers 11 kilometers"), comma splices, and tense inconsistencies. For instance, writing "The two newest underground systems Kyoto and Los Angeles" lacks a main verb. While these errors do not impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent the grammar score from reaching Band 7.

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

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