Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-09-27
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 illustrates the systems of underground railway in six cities.
Overall, it can be seen that the highest kilometers of route were in london while the number of pessengers per year was highest in tokyo.
Firstly, in london city the underground railway system was opened in the year 1863 with 394 routes of kilometers and 775 millions of passenger per year. However, in the year 1900 the railways was established in paris including 199 kilometers of route and 1191 millions of individuals per year. Following these, the railways was opened in tokyo in the year 1927 included 155 kilometers of route and highest number of passengers (1197 millions).
Furthermore, railways with 126 kilometers of route and 144 millions of passenger in every year was developed in washington DC in the year 1976. Whereas, it was established in kyoto in the year 1981 with 11 route and 45 passengers per year. Likewise, in the year 2001, the railways was opened in Los angeles holding 28 routes of kilometers and 50 millions of passengers regular year.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The student successfully addresses all parts of the task by reporting the main features of the table, including dates opened, kilometers of route, and passenger numbers. Key comparisons are made, such as identifying London as having the longest route and Tokyo as having the highest passenger volume. An overview is provided at the beginning, which outlines the most significant trends. However, there are minor inaccuracies in the data reporting, such as stating Tokyo's passenger number as '1197 millions' instead of the correct 1927, and grouping data rather than fully selecting and synthesising the most salient comparative features. Overall, the response meets the core requirements for Task Achievement at a Band 6.0 level.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The response is arranged coherently with a clear overall progression, moving from an introductory overview to detailed descriptions of each city. Paragraphing is used adequately to structure the response. However, the use of cohesive devices can be somewhat mechanical and repetitive, relying heavily on transitional phrases like 'Firstly', 'However', 'Furthermore', and 'Likewise'. Additionally, referencing and pronoun use are occasionally awkward or imprecise, such as 'whereas, it was established in kyoto'. The logical flow between sentences is sometimes disrupted by clunky phrasing, placing this aspect of the writing firmly at Band 6.0.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully using terms related to transportation and statistics such as 'underground railway systems', 'kilometers of route', and 'passengers per year'. However, there are notable word choice and collocation errors, such as 'highest kilometers of route' instead of 'longest routes', 'routes of kilometers', and spelling errors like 'pessengers' and 'paris'/'london' lacking capitalization. Less common vocabulary is attempted with limited success. The lexical control is characteristic of a Band 5.5 to 6.0, hindered by basic errors and repetitive lexical choices.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, incorporating relative clauses and comparative structures. However, grammatical accuracy is inconsistent. There are frequent errors in prepositions and articles (e.g., 'in london city', 'the railways was opened'), plurals/singulars (e.g., '11 route', '50 millions of passengers regular year'), and subject-verb agreement ('railways was opened'). Punctuation and capitalization errors also appear throughout the text. While these errors rarely impede the overall communication of the data, their frequency prevents the score from rising higher than a Band 5.5.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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