Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-09-26
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 below illustrates the information about the underground railway systems in six different cities. Passenger numbers are in millions.
Overall, underground railway system was functional in London, paris, Tokyo, Washington DC, Kyoto and Los Angeles. Tokyo had the highest number of passengers per year while Kyoto had the least numbers in passengers. London started early in 1863 and Los Angeles started last in 2001. London had the longest route of 394 kiloketers while Kyoto had the smallest route of 11 kilometers.
London underground system started in 1863 had the longest route of 394 km. Paris had the second longest route of 199 km opened in 1900. Tokyo had 155 km of route which was third longest opened in 1927. Fourth is Wasshington DC 126 km long and was opened in 1976.
Kyoto was opened in 1981 and was only 11 km long which was the smallest of all. Finally Los Angesles was opened in 2001 and had 28 km long route slightly longer than Kyoto.
Comparing the number of passengers per year Tokyo had the highest passenger per year estimating at 1927 million. The second highest was Paris with 1191 millions of passengers. London had 775 million passengers per year and was the third highest. Washington Dc had 144 million passenger and Los Angeles had 50 million. Kyoto had the lowest number of passengers which were 45 million per year.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0
The student successfully addresses all parts of the task by selecting and reporting the main features of the underground railway systems, making relevant comparisons across the six cities. An overview is provided in the second paragraph, highlighting key extremes such as Tokyo having the most passengers and Kyoto having the least, alongside chronological and route-length comparisons. However, the organisation of data across the body paragraphs feels somewhat repetitive, as data points are listed mechanically rather than fully synthesised. For instance, dates and route lengths are introduced in the overview, repeated in paragraph three, and then further elaborated in paragraph four. Despite this structural redundancy, all main trends and figures are accurately captured, earning a solid Band 6.5.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The response features a coherent overall arrangement with a clear attempt at paragraphing, separating the introduction, overview, and specific data details. However, logical progression is occasionally hindered by repetitive referencing and abrupt transitions between sentences. For example, paragraphs three and four list cities one by one without smooth transitional links, making the cohesion feel slightly mechanical. Additionally, referencing is occasionally imprecise, such as jumping between route lengths and passenger numbers without clear thematic grouping. Paragraphing is used, but the internal cohesion within the body paragraphs lacks the flexibility and sophistication required for higher bands. Therefore, a Band 6 is awarded.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for the task, successfully incorporating terms such as 'illustrates', 'functional', 'passenger numbers', and 'route'. There are several attempts to use comparative and superlative forms accurately, such as 'highest number of passengers' and 'longest route'. However, there are notable spelling errors ('kiloketers', 'Wasshington', 'Angesles') and occasional awkward word choices or phrasing, such as 'least numbers in passengers' and 'estimating at 1927 million'. While these lexical inadequacies and spelling slips do not impede overall communication, they prevent the response from achieving a higher band. Consequently, a Band 6 is appropriate.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as 'Tokyo had 155 km of route which was third longest opened in 1927.' Control over grammar and punctuation is generally adequate, but there are several noticeable errors and awkward phrasings, including missing capitalization ('paris'), missing articles ('Tokyo had the highest passenger per year'), and dangling modifiers ('London underground system started in 1863 had the longest route'). Punctuation is sometimes weak, particularly with commas separating clauses or numbers. Although these grammatical errors rarely impede communication and the basic tense control for past dates is handled correctly, the frequency of slips keeps the score at a Band 6.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.