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 table illustrates the information about the underground railway system in six cities. It tells the total number of passengers travelled in the underground railway, how much kilometers the route was, it is also showing the date and city where the passengers travelled.
In the city london the opening date of the train was 1863 the route was about 394 kilometers moreover, the passengers travelled through the train were about 775. Altough, In Paris the train opening was at 1900 the route on which the train travelled was about 199 kilometers and it took around 1191 passengers anually.
After 27 years the next undergound train stared at Tokyo the date was 1924 and the route it covers after carrying around 1927 passengers was about 155 kilometers. Eventually in Washington DC the opening date of the underground train was 1976 which travels about 126 kilometers and carry 144 passengers anually. Comparing it with Kyoto in which the opening date was 1981 and the route it travells was about 11 kilometers but unfortunately it took only 45 passengers anually. Last but not the least in Los Angeles 2001 was the date when the train started and the route was about 28 kilometers and took 50 passengers anually.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The response attempts to cover the main features of the table, such as the dates, route lengths, and passenger numbers for the six cities. However, there are significant factual inaccuracies in the reporting of the data. For instance, the student states that Tokyo opened in 1924 instead of 1927, and incorrectly attributes the passenger figure (1927 million) as the number of passengers carried before covering 155 kilometers, leading to confusion. Furthermore, comparisons are weak, and the overview paragraph is overly simplistic and fails to clearly highlight the broader trends, such as older systems generally having longer routes or Tokyo having the highest passenger volume. These limitations correspond to a Band 5.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0
The essay is divided into an introduction and two body paragraphs, showing some basic organisation. However, the progression of ideas is hindered by repetitive phrasing and awkward transitions. Cohesive devices are sometimes inaccurate or awkward, such as starting sentences with 'In the city london' and 'Last but not the least'. Referencing is also occasionally unclear, making it difficult to follow the logical flow of data between cities. Paragraphing is attempted, but the grouping of data feels disjointed, leading to an overall coherence score of 5.0.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is basic and repetitive, relying heavily on simple terms like 'train', 'route', 'date', and 'passengers'. There are noticeable errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'passengers travelled through the train', 'how much kilometers', and 'took around 1191 passengers anually' instead of 'carried'. Additionally, there are spelling and capitalization errors, such as 'london', 'Altough', 'undergound', 'stared', 'travells', and 'anually'. These limitations restrict the range to a Band 5.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but many complex sentences contain severe structural flaws, run-on errors, and missing punctuation. For example, the sentence 'It tells the total number of passengers travelled in the underground railway, how much kilometers the route was, it is also showing the date and city where the passengers travelled' is a comma splice containing multiple grammatical errors. Frequent errors in verb tense, prepositions, and clause structure cause noticeable difficulty for the reader, placing this performance at Band 5.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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