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 provided table illustrates the comparison of the number of travellers and the length of the underground railway routes of six cities, such as London, Paris, Tokyo, Washington DC, Kyoto, and Los Angeles. The number of passengers counted in millions.

Overall, although Kyoto and Los Angeles had shorter routes of underground railway systems and had advanced technology, they had limited passengers. However, Tokyo accounted for a higher number of travellers, even it had the third-largest route among six cities.

The London railway system was introduced in 1863 with longest train route of 394 kilometers among all cities, which had 775 million passengers. In addition, in 1927, Tokyo's train route was half of London's train route, it had almost triple travellers (1927 millions). Although Paris's underground subway opened in the beginning of 20th century and had only 199 kilometer route, the passengers on train increased significantly and reached up to 1191 millions.

While Washington DC had 126km route of subway, it had only 144 passenges. In contrast, Kyoto and Los Angeles had shortest route, it had acquired public as compared to longest routes. Since Kyoto and Los Angeles most recently, it still had limited number of train passengers.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response covers all parts of the prompt by presenting the data for all six cities, noting dates of opening, route lengths, and passenger numbers. Key features and comparisons are successfully made, such as contrasting London's oldest and longest network with Tokyo's exceptionally high passenger volume. However, there are some minor sweeping claims that are slightly inaccurate or speculative according to the table, such as stating Kyoto and Los Angeles 'had advanced technology' or 'had acquired public as compared to longest routes'. Despite these minor flaws, the overview is clear and the main trends are adequately summarised, placing the response comfortably within the Band 6.0 to 6.5 range.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organised logically into an introduction, an overview paragraph, and two body paragraphs detailing the specific cities. Cohesive devices are employed to link ideas, such as 'Overall, although', 'In addition', and 'While ... In contrast'. However, some of the referencing and logical transitions are slightly mechanical or strained, for instance, 'even it had the third-largest route' and 'Since Kyoto and Los Angeles most recently, it still had limited number'. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate general trends from specific data points, resulting in a coherent overall structure that meets the requirements for a Band 6.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary for the task, utilising terms such as 'illustrates', 'travellers', 'underground railway systems', and 'significantly'. There are attempts to use less common vocabulary like 'advanced technology' and 'triple travellers', though some word choices and collocations are slightly unnatural, such as 'had acquired public' and 'shortest route, it had acquired public'. Spelling is generally accurate, but minor lexical infelicities prevent the score from reaching a higher band. The vocabulary is sufficient to communicate the main points clearly.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response exhibits a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, including subordinate clauses ('Although Paris's underground subway opened...', 'While Washington DC had 126km route...'). There are several grammatical errors and awkward phrasings throughout, such as 'The number of passengers counted in millions', 'even it had the third-largest route', and 'Since Kyoto and Los Angeles most recently, it still had limited number'. Punctuation is generally acceptable, and while these errors are noticeable, they rarely impede overall communication, supporting a Band 6.0 score.

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

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