Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-09-24
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)
A table is given which provides information regarding the underground railway system of six cities. It can be noted that longest operating systems have more routes except for Kyoto which has failed to develop in comparison to Los Angeles.
The table is organised in the order of the date of opening of the underground railway system. The oldest system belongs to London which opened in the year 1863. It also has the longest route of any other city.
Tokyo railway system carries the highest number passengers which is 1927 million per year. The second highest being Paris which is a distant second. Los Angeles is the most recently opened railway system with only 28 kilometres of route and 50 million passengers travelling.
When comparing the density of operation London which has 394 km of route only has 775 million passenger travelling per year. Tokyo is the most densest where considerably larger population is utilising the railway system but have low distance routes available.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The student attempts to cover the main features of the table, noting key details such as the oldest system in London, the highest passenger numbers in Tokyo, and the newest system in Los Angeles. However, the overview sentence contains some questionable generalisations, stating that 'longest operating systems have more routes except for Kyoto', which is somewhat confusingly phrased and lacks precision. Furthermore, the comparison of data points is slightly underdeveloped, and a few numerical figures are omitted or misreported, such as Tokyo's passenger number being confused with route length or vice versa in the phrasing. Overall, it addresses the prompt adequately but falls short of fully extending and supporting all key comparisons, aligning best with a Band 6.0.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0
The response is arranged logically into four paragraphs: an introduction, followed by body paragraphs discussing opening dates, passenger volumes and route lengths, and a final concluding comparison. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'It can be noted', 'The table is organised', and 'When comparing', though referencing is sometimes slightly mechanical or unclear, as seen in 'The second highest being Paris which is a distant second'. Paragraphing is used appropriately to group related ideas, giving the text an overall coherent arrangement that satisfies the criteria for a Band 6.5, leaning towards clear logical progression.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating terms such as 'underground railway system', 'organise', 'density', and 'passenger travelling'. There are some awkward phrasings and word choice inaccuracies, such as 'most densest' (a double superlative) and missing prepositions or pluralisation errors like 'highest number passengers'. However, these lexical errors do not impede communication, and the vocabulary used is sufficient to convey the main points, fitting comfortably into the Band 6.0 descriptor.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, including relative clauses and subordinate clauses (e.g., 'Los Angeles is the most recently opened railway system with only 28 kilometres of route...'). There are several grammatical errors and punctuation lapses throughout the text, such as missing commas in introductory phrases ('When comparing the density of operation London which has...'), incorrect superlatives ('most densest'), and minor agreement issues. Nevertheless, these errors do not obscure meaning and the sentences remain mostly understandable, reflecting the characteristics of a Band 6.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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