Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-09-17
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 chart is the data of the underground railway systems for six cities.
Overall, Tokyo city travellers were more higher than compared with the other five cities. Though it started 64 yrs later than London and Paris with the passengers 775 and 1191 respectively.
In detail, the underground railway system which started in the year 1863 in London. Similarly in Paris started in the 1900, in1927, Tokyo, in 1976, Washington DC, in 1981, Kyoto and in 2001, Los Angeles. As the years passing by the kilometers of route were decreasing and the passenders were increasing upto the year 1927 in Tokyo. The cities which started the underground railway systems later then Tokyo were Washington DC, Kyoto and Los Angeles the Kilometers of route tremendously decreased to 11 kms with high rate compared with Washington DC and slightly increased by 28 kms in Los Angeles.
Comparisons, as and when the year passed-by passengers were not using underground railway systems. Initially the passengers per year were increasing.
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 summarise the table, noting key figures such as the dates, kilometers of route, and passenger numbers for the six cities. However, the interpretation of the data contains significant inaccuracies and confusion. For instance, the student states that Tokyo travellers were "more higher" and gives the Tokyo passenger figure as 1927, which conflates the opening year (1927) with the passenger volume (1,927 million). Furthermore, the chronological and comparative observations are muddled and difficult to follow, failing to present a fully clear overview of main trends as required by the Task 1 descriptors. This performance aligns best with Band 5.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0
The response is divided into short paragraphs, but the logical flow and overall progression are weak. The introduction is disjointed ("The chart is the data"), and sentences within the body paragraphs lack clear cohesive links, resulting in a fragmented reading experience. Phrases like "In detail, the underground railway system which started in the year 1863 in London" are grammatically incomplete and disrupt cohesion. Reference words and logical connectors are either misused or absent, making it difficult to trace the relationships between the data points. Paragraphing is attempted but lacks internal cohesion, placing this response at Band 5.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is very basic and repetitive, frequently relying on simple terms like "started", "cities", and "passengers". There are notable lexical inaccuracies, such as "passenders" (spelling error) and confusing data labels with years. Attempts to use more complex vocabulary are hindered by poor collocation and word choice, such as "more higher" and "as the years passing by". The range of vocabulary is limited and minimally adequate for conveying basic information, though frequent errors in word formation and spelling restrict the score to Band 5.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The student relies on a very limited range of sentence structures, and attempts at complex or longer sentences are frequently faulty or incomplete. Examples include fragment sentences like "In detail, the underground railway system which started in the year 1863 in London" which lack a main verb. Grammatical errors are frequent throughout the text, including tense confusion ("started... is starting"), preposition errors, and comparative errors ("more higher"). These errors cause noticeable difficulty for the reader and prevent the text from achieving a higher band, placing it firmly at Band 5.
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.