Band 4.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.0 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-09-18

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 4.0)

The chart provides infomation of underground railway systems in six different countries. A chart contains 4 portion and pessengers per year are given in millions.

The largest route contained by london, while kyoto had smallest route of 11.

The first country named was london and by 1863, the railway system was used by the publiuc. It contained route of 394 kilometers in the city. Moreover, almost 775 millions pessengers was used this line per year.

Following this, Paris was opened in 1900. which contained 199km line around the city. It had second highest number of passengers per year of about 1191.

Tokyo station was started on 1927, and make highest number of passengers per year accounted of 1927 millions, while Kyoto had the least number of pessengers per year accounted of 45 millions. Furthermore, Tokyo contained 155km of route.

Washington DC opened station for their public in 1976, but many people was not interested in using. It had the record of 144 millions passengers per year.

Kyoto and Los Angeles were started their station in 1981 and 2001 respectively. Kyoto had vey samllest route of about 11km, while 28km accounted by Los Angeles. 45 millions person were recorded in Kyoto, while 50 millions were recorded by Los Angeles.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.0

The response attempts to cover the main features of the table, including dates of opening, kilometers of route, and passenger numbers. However, there are significant flaws in task completion. The writer misinterprets cities as countries in several places (e.g., referring to London, Paris, and Tokyo as countries). Furthermore, there is a notable factual error when reporting Tokyo's passenger numbers, confusing the year 1927 with the passenger figure of 1,927 million, and adding speculative commentary such as 'many people was not interested in using' for Washington DC. While an overview is partially attempted, the lack of accurate reporting and confusion regarding data points place this response at Band 4.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 4.0

The response is organised into multiple paragraphs, attempting to group information city by city. However, the progression is mechanical and sometimes confusing. Cohesive devices are used awkwardly or inaccurately, such as 'Following this, Paris was opened' and 'Tokyo station was started on 1927, and make highest number...'. Referencing is frequently unclear, and the mechanical listing of data without clear overarching comparisons disrupts the logical flow. Paragraphing is also erratic, with some very short, disconnected paragraphs. This level of cohesion and organisation aligns with Band 4.0 descriptors.

Lexical Resource — Band 4.0

The vocabulary used is very basic and repetitive, relying heavily on words like 'route', 'passengers', 'number', and 'opened'. There are numerous spelling and word-choice errors, such as 'infomation' for information, 'pessengers' for passengers, 'publiuc' for public, and 'vey samllest' for very smallest. The writer struggles with basic collocations and forms, often using incorrect parts of speech. While the vocabulary is sufficient to convey the general topic of underground railways, the frequency of lexical errors causes strain for the reader, fitting the Band 4.0 descriptor.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 4.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentences, but grammatical accuracy is very low. There are frequent, heavy errors in verb tense, voice, and subject-verb agreement throughout the text. Examples include 'The largest route contained by london' (passive voice misuse), 'pessengers was used this line' (incorrect verb form), 'Tokyo station was started on 1927, and make highest number' (tense inconsistency and agreement error), and 'Kyoto and Los Angeles were started their station' (incorrect passive structure). These pervasive errors frequently distort meaning and create difficulty for the reader, justifying a Band 4.0 score.

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

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