Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)
The table illustrates the proportion of underground railway system in six different countries.
Overall, the city london recorded the longest distance travelled, whereas kyoto had the shortest. In terms of passenger numbers, city toyo had the highest figure, while city kyoto recorded the lowest.
The tokyo and paris recorded relatively high passenger numbers, at 1927 million and 1191 million respectively. The distance travelled in these cities was also comparatively high, at 199km and 155km. However, the distance travelled in london was highest among all cities.
On the other side, kyoto had less passengers than every city.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 4.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0
The response attempts to summarize the table, noting key features such as the oldest and longest systems (London), the busiest systems (Tokyo, Paris), and the smallest ones (Kyoto, Los Angeles). However, the word count is only 96 words, failing to meet the minimum requirement of 150 words. This significantly penalises the task achievement, as the data is only partially reported and under-developed. Furthermore, there are factual errors in the reporting, such as stating the distance for Tokyo and Paris was '199km and 155km', which reverses the figures provided in the table. These inaccuracies and the severe under-length result in a low band score.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0
The response is organized into four short paragraphs, attempting an overview and body details. However, the progression is disjointed due to the brevity and lack of cohesive devices. Referencing is occasionally unclear, as seen with 'On the other side' and repetitive phrasing like 'city kyoto' and 'city toyo'. Paragraphing is present, but overall cohesion is mechanical and inadequate for higher bands. While there is a basic structure, the logical flow is hampered by missing development and weak transitions between ideas.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is basic and repetitive, with frequent use of words like 'city', 'distance', 'travelled', and 'passengers'. There are noticeable errors in word choice and expression, such as 'proportion of underground railway system' (it is a table of statistics, not proportions) and capitalization errors like 'london', 'kyoto', and 'tokyo'. The range is limited and minimally adequate for conveying basic numerical comparisons, but the lack of precise vocabulary and the recurring errors constrain the score.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as 'whereas kyoto had the shortest' and 'The tokyo and paris recorded...'. However, there are frequent errors in grammar and punctuation, including missing articles ('the london', 'the tokyo and paris'), incorrect capitalization proper nouns, and awkward phrasing ('had less passengers than every city', which should be 'fewer passengers than any other city'). While some basic sentences are accurate, the grammatical control is inconsistent and negatively impacts readability.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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