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 shows that the London underground railway was opened in 1863, when 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 when 1927 million people travelled per year. On the other hand, Washington DC opened its railway in 1976 when the trains had covered 126 routes, carrying 144 million travelers each year. Kyoto’s opening date was 1981 and when 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, 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 response successfully covers all parts of the prompt by presenting an overview of the underground railway systems in the six cities. Key features such as the date opened, kilometers of route, and annual passenger numbers are reported, and relevant comparisons are made at the end of the text (e.g., 'most routes were covered by London's railway' and 'Tokyo's railway' transporting the highest number of people). However, the approach is somewhat mechanical, listing data row by row rather than grouping or synthesizing the information more effectively. Nonetheless, all data points are accurately referenced from the table, fulfilling the requirements for a Band 6.5 or solid Band 6 performance.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response is organized logically, following a city-by-city presentation pattern. However, the overall structure suffers from a lack of effective paragraphing, as the entire body of the report is clumped into a single, dense block of text. Cohesive devices are used to link sentences (e.g., 'Specifically', 'However', 'Meanwhile', 'On the other hand', 'Moreover'), but some of these transitions feel repetitive or slightly forced given the data-listing nature of the text. Referencing is generally clear, but the absence of paragraph breaks severely limits the flow and readability of the response, capping this criterion at Band 5.5.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary for the task, successfully employing terms such as 'depicts', 'transported', 'route', and 'travelers'. There are some awkward phrasings or misinterpretations of data headings, such as 'covered routes' instead of kilometers of route, and 'when 11 routes were covered' for Kyoto. While the range is sufficient to convey the core information, attempts at less common vocabulary are somewhat limited and occasionally inaccurate. Spelling is generally accurate, but lexical control lacks the flexibility and precision required for higher bands.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and subordinate conjunctions (e.g., 'when the number of covered routes was 394 and the passengers who travelled by train per year were 775 million'). However, some complex structures are awkward or grammatically heavy, such as the clause in the Kyoto sentence: 'Kyoto’s opening date was 1981 and when 11 routes were covered along with 45 million individuals per year,' which lacks a main verb in the second clause. Punctuation is generally acceptable, but grammatical errors in clause structure occasionally disrupt the natural flow of reading.

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

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