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 table demonstrates data regarding the underground railway system in six cities. It can be clearly seen from the table that the Tokyo has the highest passenger per year, in contrast Kyoto has the lowest passengers per year.
Firstly, the oldest railway system which is London that opened on the year 1863 consist of 394 kilometers of route has 775 millions passenger per year. Besides that Paris which was opened on the year 1900 has 1191 millions passenger per year while Tokyo has 1927 millions per year that has opened on the year 1927.
Secondly, the rest of three cities has the lower passengers per year compare to London, Paris and Tokyo. Kyoto has the lowest which is 45 millions passenger per year compared to Los Angeles which has the 50 millions passenger per year and also the latest introduced railway system. Lastly, Washington DC has about 144 millions passenger per year which was opened on the year 1976.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response covers all parts of the task by presenting data for all six cities across the given categories (date opened, kilometers of route, and passengers per year). The main features are identified, such as Tokyo having the highest number of passengers and Kyoto the lowest, and appropriate comparisons are made between the cities. However, the explanation tends to list data points rather than fully developing the analysis of trends or relationships between the variables. For instance, the link between the age of the system and its size or passenger volume is not deeply explored. Overall, the response fulfills the basic requirements of an academic task 1 summary well enough to achieve a Band 6.0.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response presents an overall coherent arrangement with clear referencing of the source material. Information is organised into logical paragraphs, starting with an introduction and overview, followed by specific groupings of cities. However, the cohesion feels somewhat mechanical and repetitive, relying heavily on basic sequencing words like 'Firstly', 'Besides that', and 'Secondly'. Paragraphing is used, but transitions between sentences can be abrupt. Referencing is occasionally slightly unclear, such as how modifiers and relative clauses are linked. This places the response comfortably at Band 6.0 for coherence and cohesion.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating terms related to transport infrastructure such as 'underground railway system', 'kilometers of route', and 'passengers per year'. There are, however, noticeable lexical errors and awkward phrasings, such as 'demonstrates data regarding' instead of 'presents data on', and incorrect pluralization or phrasing like 'the highest passenger per year' and 'millions passenger'. While these errors do not impede communication, they reflect a limited control of word choice and collocation, aligning with the Band 5.5 or 6.0 descriptors.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, incorporating relative clauses (e.g., 'that opened on the year 1863') and comparative structures. However, grammatical accuracy is inconsistent. There are frequent errors in prepositions and articles, such as 'the Tokyo has', 'on the year 1863', and 'the rest of three cities has the lower passengers'. Verb tense and agreement errors also occur frequently ('consist of', 'has the lower'). Although these errors do not completely obscure the meaning, they cause some difficulty for the reader and prevent the response from reaching a higher band, making Band 5.0 appropriate here.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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