Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)
The table provides key information about a subterranean railway systems in London, Paris, Tokyo, Washington DC, Kyoto, and Los Angeles.
Overall, Tokyo has the highest number of passengers per year across all cities, but they have the standard length of the route. In contrast, London had the longest route, accounting for the largest share of the total distance covered. Meanwhile, Kyoto recorded the lowest number of travellers.
In terms of the most popular category, in 1927 Tokyo registered the highest passengers per year which is 1927, however, total route length was significantly lower than Paris and London at, 155. Riders rate in Paris in 1900 made up 1191 and length of the route was 199 kilometers. Moreover, London constituted the largest route length at 394 while, figure for passengers at, 775 millions per year.
Looking at less prominent choices, the figures for Washington DC and Los Angeles in passengers category accounted for
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The response attempts to cover all parts of the task by introducing the table and providing an overview and specific details. However, the student makes several factual inaccuracies based on the provided data. For instance, Tokyo has the highest number of passengers (1,927 million), but the text awkwardly states that 'they have the standard length of the route' and confuses dates with values ('in 1927 Tokyo registered the highest passengers per year which is 1927'). Furthermore, the response trails off abruptly at the end ('the figures for Washington DC and Los Angeles in passengers category accounted for') and fails to complete the summary of the final cities. These gaps and inaccuracies prevent the response from achieving a higher band, placing it firmly at band 5.0.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0
The response has an overall basic structure with a clear introduction and an overview paragraph. However, logical progression is hindered by confusing sentence construction and the abrupt cessation of the text at the end. Cohesive devices are attempted (such as 'Overall', 'In contrast', 'Meanwhile', 'however'), but their usage is sometimes mechanical or imprecise. Paragraphing is initiated but the final paragraph is left incomplete. Referencing and connections between ideas occasionally break down, leading to confusion for the reader, which aligns with the descriptor for band 5.0.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully using terms like 'subterranean railway systems', 'route', 'passengers per year', and 'proportion'. However, there are noticeable word choice and collocation errors, such as 'standard length of the route' instead of average or moderate length, and 'Riders rate' instead of passenger volume or ridership. While the vocabulary is minimally adequate to convey basic ideas, these recurrent inaccuracies and the incomplete ending limit the score to a band 5.5.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and comparative structures. However, grammatical accuracy is inconsistent. There are several structural errors and awkward phrasing, such as 'a subterranean railway systems' (article/plural mismatch), 'they have the standard length' (ambiguous pronoun reference), and punctuation errors with commas ('at, 155' and 'at, 775 millions'). Frequent errors in complex structures and the unfinished concluding sentence mean the grammar falls short of a solid band 6.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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