Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)

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 shows that the London underground railway was opened in 1863, in which the number of covered routes was 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 were 155, 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 most routes were covered by London's railway. However, the highest number of people were transported by Tokyo's railway and Kyoto was the least among all in completing routes and transporting passengers.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The student successfully addresses all parts of the task by reporting the main features of the table, including the date opened, kilometers of route, and annual passengers for all six cities. Appropriate comparisons are made, such as noting that London has the most routes, Tokyo transports the highest number of passengers, and Kyoto has the lowest figures across categories. However, the report tends to list data chronologically city-by-city in the second paragraph rather than grouping or synthesizing the information more analytically, which limits the development to a Band 6 or 7 level. There is a minor inaccuracy in phrasing the kilometers of route as 'routes were covered', but the data is accurately reported overall.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall progression, starting with an introductory overview, moving to detailed data in the body paragraph, and concluding with a summary comparison. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the introduction, body, and conclusion. Cohesive devices are employed to connect ideas, such as 'Specifically', 'However', 'Meanwhile', 'On the other hand', and 'In comparison'. However, some of the cohesive links and relative clauses feel a bit mechanical or repetitive in structure (e.g., repeatedly using 'in which... were covered'). Overall, the logical organization is clear, supporting a Band 6.5 or 7 score.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for the task, such as 'depicts', 'transported', 'individuals', and 'travelers'. There are attempts to use less common vocabulary, though some word choices and collocations are slightly unnatural or inaccurate, such as referring to kilometers of route as 'routes were covered' or stating that Kyoto 'was the least among all in completing routes'. Spelling and word choice errors are present ('travelers', 'transported'), but they do not impede communication. This performance aligns well with the Band 6 descriptors.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, including relative clauses and transitional phrases. There are several grammatical errors and awkward phrasings throughout the text, particularly in the long, convoluted relative clauses used in the body paragraph (e.g., 'in which the number of covered routes was 394 and the passengers who travelled by train per year were 775 million'). Punctuation is generally acceptable, and while errors occur, they rarely impede the reader's understanding of the data. This corresponds to a Band 6 level.

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

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