Band 4.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 4.0 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-09-21
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 4.0)
The underground railway systems in six cities are described . In London, In 1863 the underground raliway system is introduced . In 1863 the underground railway is started . It route per days is decleard 394 kilometers . They can calculated that how much passengers can carry par year . The result can be accomdate tha there 775 million passengers are carried . The Paris is the next city where the railway system is introduced . In 1900 the system is introduced . And the route of this train is 199 kilometer. And they are carried 1191 million passenger per year. The next city is Tokyo . In Tokyo the railway is introduced in 1927 . And the route of railway is 155 kilometer .they carried 1927 million people per year. the next city is Washington DC here introduce in 1976 ,thier route is 126 kilometer and they carried 144 million people per year . The next city is kyoto here introduce in 1981 and their route is about 11 kilometer , and they carried 45 million passenger per year. the next city is Los Angeles here they introduce in 2001 ,they route is 28 kilometer ,and they carried 50 million people per year
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 4.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 4.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 4.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 4.0 |
| Overall | 4.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.5
The student attempts to report the main features of the table regarding the underground railway systems in six cities. However, the response fails to provide an effective overview or make meaningful comparisons between the cities, which is a key requirement for Academic Task 1. Instead, the student lists the data city by city in a repetitive and mechanical fashion (e.g., 'In London, In 1863... The Paris is the next city... The next city is Tokyo...'). Furthermore, there are significant factual misinterpretations of the data, such as claiming the route per day is declared 394 kilometers, or stating that Tokyo carried 1927 million people (confusing the year of opening with the passenger number). Because the data is partially misunderstood and comparisons are absent, this performance corresponds to a Band 4.5.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 4.0
Coherence and cohesion are severely compromised in this response. The text is written as a single, unbroken block of text without any paragraphing whatsoever, making it very difficult for the reader to follow the progression of information. Cohesive devices are extremely limited and repetitive, relying almost entirely on 'And' and 'The next city is' to link clauses and sentences. There is a lack of logical organization and a clear overview. Referencing is also faulty in places, such as switching abruptly between pronouns ('they', 'their', 'it'). This level of cohesion and paragraph structure aligns closely with Band 4.0 descriptors.
Lexical Resource — Band 4.0
The vocabulary used is extremely basic, repetitive, and narrow in scope, relying heavily on fundamental terms like 'city', 'railway', 'route', 'kilometer', and 'passenger'. There are numerous lexical errors and inappropriate word choices, such as 'raliway' (spelling), 'route per days is decleard', 'calculated that how much passengers can carry par year', and 'accomdate tha there'. The student shows almost no ability to use less common vocabulary or paraphrase the prompt effectively. This vocabulary control sits firmly at Band 4.0.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 4.0
The grammatical range is extremely limited. The response consists almost entirely of simple, repetitive sentence structures (e.g., 'In 1900 the system is introduced', 'And the route of this train is 199 kilometer'). Attempts at more complex structures are virtually non-existent, and the text is plagued by frequent, basic grammatical errors. These include subject-verb agreement issues ('they carried 1191 million passenger'), incorrect verb tenses and passive voice misuse ('here introduce in 1976', 'they route is 28 kilometer'), punctuation omissions, and spelling mistakes. Meaning is frequently obscured by grammatical inaccuracy, fitting the Band 4.0 criteria.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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