Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-09-22

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 5.0)

The table below illustrates the information about the underground railway systems of six cities.

Over the year, the distance of route and passenger per year (in millions)was decreased. London covers higher distance of railways system in the very beginning whereas Los Angeles cover shorter distance. Sudden huge passenger drop down was seen in Washington DC but route was slightly fluctuating in Tokyo.

The longest distance of route was built in 1863 at london where 775 millions people travel per year. Paris hold second position to built 199 kilometer of route in 1900 where the passenger flooded to 1191. In the year 1927, Tokyo built 155 kilometer of distance for railways which carry huge passenger 1927.

For some instance, Washington DC establish the railway covering 126 kilometer route of railways in 1976 and carry 144 kilometer of distance. In the year 1981, there is sudden declination of kilometer of route established by Kyoto which cover 11 km where only 45 passenger travel through it. Another city Los Angeles built railways of 28 km in the year 2001 which carry 50 passenger only slightly increase in passenger than kyoto .

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The student attempts to summarise the data from the table, identifying some of the key cities, dates, route lengths, and passenger numbers. However, the overview paragraph contains inaccurate generalisations and misinterprets the data, stating incorrectly that the distance of routes and passenger numbers decreased over time, when the table actually shows data for systems opened at different dates rather than trends over a single time period. Furthermore, some data points are misreported or confusingly described, such as stating that Washington DC carried '144 kilometer of distance' instead of passengers. Due to these significant inaccuracies in reporting and lack of a coherent overview, the response achieves a Band 5.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The response is divided into an introduction and three body paragraphs, showing an attempt at logical organisation. However, progression is frequently impeded by confusing statements and awkward phrasing, such as 'Over the year, the distance of route and passenger per year... was decreased.' Cohesive devices are used minimally and sometimes inappropriately, such as 'For some instance,' which does not fit the context. Paragraphing is present, but internal cohesion within paragraphs suffers from abrupt shifts between cities and metrics without clear linking. Overall, the structural arrangement meets the requirements for a Band 5.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The student demonstrates a basic vocabulary range suitable for describing numerical data, using words such as 'distance', 'route', 'passenger', and 'city'. However, there are frequent inappropriate word choices and collocations, such as 'Paris hold second position to built', 'passenger flooded to 1191', and confusing 'passengers' with 'kilometers'. Spelling and morphological errors are also noticeable, including 'declination' instead of 'decline' or 'decrease', and 'establish' instead of 'established'. These lexical limitations and errors cause some difficulty for the reader, placing the response at Band 5.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but control over grammar is weak. There are frequent errors in verb tense, subject-verb agreement, and voice, such as 'route and passenger... was decreased', 'London covers higher distance', and 'Washington DC establish the railway'. Punctuation and article usage are also inconsistent throughout the text. While simple sentences are generally understandable, attempts at more complex structures often result in grammatical breakdown and strain the reader's comprehension, corresponding to a Band 5.0.

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