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 below pasted chart provide details about different cities underground railway systems.
in this table details of six different cities railway system has been mentioned. In which date of opening, kilometers of route and annually passengers data are discussed gradually.
in london first underground railway systen has been opened in 1863 with 394 kilometers of route and 775 million people travelled. In Paris this sytem is introduced in 1900 with 199 KM of route and 1191 millions individual has been travelled.In Tokyo this system has been started in 1927 with 155 KM per route and 1927 millions people travelled. In Washington DC this sytem started in 1976 with 126 KM per route and only 144 millionpassengers travelled. In Kyoto its started in 1981 with 11 KMper route and LOS ANGELES in 2001 with 28 KM per rotue and almost same quantity of people has been travelled in both cities that are 45 to 50 millions. The highest range of passengeres annually in TOKYO but the lowest range of passengers in Kyoto.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 4.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response successfully covers all parts of the task by reporting the main features from the table regarding date of opening, route length, and passenger numbers for the six cities, and makes some basic comparisons (such as noting Tokyo has the highest range and Kyoto the lowest). However, the information is presented in a mechanical, list-like fashion rather than being well-synthesised, and some data points are inaccurate according to the prompt (e.g., stating Tokyo has 1927 million passengers, which correctly matches the year of opening 1927 in the table, showing a slight misreading of the data columns). Ideas are somewhat underdeveloped regarding broader trends. These shortcomings place the response at Band 5.5.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 4.5
The organisation of the text is severely hampered by poor paragraphing and formatting. The entire response consists of a run-on block of text with virtually no proper punctuation at the beginning of sentences (e.g., lowercase 'in' at the start of sentences). Cohesive devices are extremely basic and repetitive, relying on constant repetition of 'In [City] this system is introduced/started...' while referencing is sometimes unclear or misused. There is no clear overall progression or logical grouping of information, leading to an overall score of 4.5 for this criterion.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is basic and repetitive, frequently reusing terms like 'system', 'cities', 'route', 'people travelled', and 'passengers'. There are noticeable spelling and word choice errors, such as 'passengeres', 'annually' used where an adjective/noun phrase is needed ('annual passengers'), and awkward phrases like 'Kilometers per route'. While the language is minimally adequate to convey basic data from the chart, the limited range and frequent inaccuracies restrict the score to a 5.0.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The response demonstrates a very limited range of grammatical structures. Most sentences attempt simple or awkwardly constructed complex forms, and they are frequently marred by basic errors in punctuation (missing capitalisation at the start of sentences), subject-verb agreement, and tense consistency ('has been opened', 'is introduced', 'has been travelled'). Frequent errors cause noticeable difficulty for the reader and disrupt the flow of reading, justifying a band score of 5.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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