Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-09-19

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 5.5)

The illustrated table depicts the data of passengers travelling from the underground railway system in six diverse cities. Respectively, cities are London, Paris, Tokyo, Washington DC, Kyoto and Los Angeles.

The table represents the data in which the London underground railway was opened in 1863, in which the number of covered routes were 394 and the passengers who travelled from train per year was 775 million. However, the Paris opened their railway in 1900 in which 199 routes were covered and 1191 million people travelled. Meanwhile, in the Tokyo railway was developed in 1927 and the routes covered were155 in which 1927 million people travelled per year. On the other hand, the Washinton DC opened their railway in 1976 in which the trains had covered 126 routes, carrying 144 million travellers each year. The kyoto opening date was 1981 and in which 11 routes were covered along with 45 million individuals per year. Moreover, the Los Angeles opened their railways in 2001 by covering 28 routes only and transported 50 million people per year.

In comparsion, the highest routes were covered by the London's railway. However, the highest number of people were transported by the Tokyo's railway and the Kyoto was least among all in completing routes and transporting passenegers.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The student attempts to address all parts of the task by reporting key data points from the table across the six cities, including dates opened, route lengths, and passenger numbers. However, the approach is heavily listing-based rather than fully selecting and synthesising the main features. Instead of grouping data logically or drawing meaningful comparisons throughout the body, the writer treats each city sequentially with repetitive sentence structures. While comparisons are briefly attempted in the final paragraph, noting that London has the highest routes and Tokyo the highest passenger numbers, the overall development lacks a comprehensive overview of the main trends. This places the response comfortably at Band 5.5 to 6.0, as the main information is presented, but the lack of cohesive summarisation prevents it from reaching a higher band.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response is divided into three paragraphs, featuring an introduction, a detailed body section, and a concluding overview. There is a clear logical arrangement overall, as the cities are introduced chronologically by opening date. However, cohesion at the sentence level is mechanical and repetitive. Phrases such as 'in which... opened' and 'route covered' are overused in a formulaic pattern. Furthermore, referencing is sometimes awkward, as seen in expressions like 'the Paris opened their railway'. Paragraphing is used sufficiently to separate the introduction, body, and conclusion, but the internal flow of the body paragraph is hampered by monotonous transitions. These characteristics align well with a Band 6.0 descriptor, where the overall arrangement is coherent, but cohesive devices and referencing are occasionally faulty or repetitive.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for describing data, incorporating terms such as 'depicts', 'transported', and 'individuals'. However, there are noticeable word choice and collocation errors throughout the text, such as 'passengers travelling from the underground railway system' instead of 'on', and 'the Paris opened their railway' rather than 'Paris opened its underground system'. Additionally, the word 'routes' is repeatedly misused to mean kilometers of route, as the table lists kilometers rather than individual route counts. Vocabulary is somewhat limited and repetitive, with frequent reliance on basic verbs and nouns. These lexical inaccuracies and limitations place the response at a Band 5.5, reflecting a minimally adequate range that contains noticeable errors without entirely impeding communication.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, attempting relative clauses using 'in which' and subordinate structures. However, grammatical accuracy is inconsistent. There are several structural errors and awkward phrasings, such as 'the number of covered routes were 394' (subject-verb agreement error with 'number'), 'in the Tokyo railway was developed' (unnecessary preposition), and spelling mistakes like 'Washinton DC' and 'kyoto'. Punctuation is generally acceptable, but grammatical errors are frequent enough to cause occasional difficulty for the reader. The control of grammar corresponds to a Band 5.5, reflecting an attempt at complex structures that are frequently faulty, alongside a mix of reliable simple sentences.

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

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