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 on the underground railway system in six diverse cities. Specifically, these 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 by train per year were 775 million. However, Paris opened its railway in 1900 in which 199 routes were covered and 1191 million people travelled. Meanwhile, Tokyo’s railway was developed in 1927 and the routes covered were155, in which 1927 million people travelled per year. On the other hand, Washington DC opened its railway in 1976 in which the trains had covered 126 routes, carrying 144 million travelers each year. Kyoto’s opening date was 1981 and in which 11 routes were covered along with 45 million individuals per year. Moreover, Los Angeles opened its railway in 2001 by covering 28 routes only and transported 50 million people per year.

In comparison, 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 passengers.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response successfully covers all columns and rows of the provided table, including date opened, kilometers of route, and passengers per year. The student selects key features and makes valid comparisons, noting that London has the most route kilometers, Tokyo has the highest number of passengers, and Kyoto is the smallest in both aspects. However, the report relies heavily on listing the data row-by-row rather than seamlessly synthesising the information. While all parts of the task are addressed, the lack of a strong overview paragraph (the summary of main trends is placed at the end rather than integrated or highlighted) keeps this at Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is arranged into three paragraphs: an introduction, a detailed body paragraph, and a concluding overview. While there is a logical progression from introduction to body to conclusion, the internal organisation of the body paragraph is mechanical and repetitive. The student relies excessively on the phrase 'in which' (e.g., 'opened in 1863, in which the number of covered routes were...') which creates clunky and unnatural transitions between data points. Cohesive devices are used, but they are sometimes repetitive or inaccurate, leading to a Band 6.0 rating.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary range for the task, successfully discussing dates, distances, and passenger numbers using terms such as 'depicts', 'transported', and 'travellers'. However, there are notable lexical inaccuracies and awkward phrasing, such as treating 'routes' as physical objects that can be 'covered' (e.g., 'the number of covered routes were 394' or 'trains had covered 126 routes'). Furthermore, spelling and word choice are generally clear, but lack the precision and flexibility expected at Band 7.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response incorporates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, attempting relative clauses with varying success (e.g., 'trains had covered 126 routes, carrying 144 million travelers each year'). There are grammatical errors, most notably subject-verb agreement issues (e.g., 'the number of covered routes were 394' should be 'was', and 'the highest routes were covered'). While these errors do not completely impede communication, they occur frequently enough across complex structures to prevent the response from achieving a higher band.

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.