Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)

Various information pertaining to the underground railway systems in six cities are included in the given table.

The three most recently established railway systems, Washington DC, Kyoto and Los Angeles, carry the least amount of passangers per year as well as commute the shortest distances. The Tokoyo railway system carries the largest passanger population annually; this is closely followed Paris.

The longest-standing underground railway system is situated in London which also happens to be the longest route available to passangers at a whopping 394 kilometers of route. It carries a noteworthy amount of passangers; averaging at 775 million passangers a year. This is however still a fraction of passangers carried by Paris and Tokyo.

Paris and Tokyo were established within 27 years of each other and have fairly similar route lengths with a difference of only 56 kilometers; Paris being the slightly longer one. However, despite this, Tokyo carries 836 million more passagers per year than that of Paris.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

The student covers all parts of the task well by reporting the main features of the underground railway systems and making relevant comparisons. An overview and key highlights are successfully identified, such as the relationship between the date opened, route length, and passenger numbers. For instance, the response correctly notes that Washington DC, Kyoto, and Los Angeles carry the least passengers and have the shortest distances, while London has the longest route and Tokyo carries the largest annual passenger population. The information is accurately reported from the table without major omissions or inaccuracies.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The response exhibits clear logical organisation and progression throughout. Information is grouped sensibly into thematic paragraphs, such as comparing the newest systems first, followed by the oldest system in London, and concluding with a comparison between Paris and Tokyo. Cohesive devices are used reasonably well, such as 'This is however still a fraction' and 'However, despite this'. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct points, contributing to an overall coherent structure.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The student demonstrates a sufficient range of vocabulary to allow for flexibility and precision, using terms like 'pendant', 'established', 'commute', and 'noteworthy'. However, there are notable spelling errors throughout the text, most prominently with the word 'passangers' (consistently misspelled instead of 'passengers') and 'Tokoyo' instead of 'Tokyo'. These minor spelling slips prevent the score from reaching a higher band, though the vocabulary remains adequate for the task.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The writer uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures effectively, such as relative clauses ('London which also happens to be...') and concessive clauses ('However, despite this, Tokyo carries...'). There is a minor agreement error in the opening sentence ('Various information... are included'), but overall, the grammar is fairly well controlled. Punctuation is generally accurate, and complex sentence attempts do not impede communication, supporting a solid band 6.0 level.

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

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