Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-09-28

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)

The table illustrates the details of underground railway systems in six cities (London, Paris, Tokyo, Washington DC, Kyoto, and Los Angeles).

Overall, the oldest railway station is located in London and the newest in Los Angeles. Railway route in London is longest, while the shortest route is located in Kyoto. On the other hand, Tokyo and Kyoto recorded the highest and lowest number of passengers per year respectively.

The oldest railway station was opened in London in 1863, while the newest was built in Los Angeles in 2001. Whereas, Paris, Tokyo, Washington DC, and Kyoto was recorded an opening of railways in 1900, 1927, 1976, and 1981, respectively.

London stood at top with the longest route (394 KMs), while Kyoto displayed the shortest route of 11 KMs only. On the other hand, Paris stood at 199 KMs, Tokyo at 155 KMs, Washington DC at 126 KMs, and Los Angeles at 28 KMs. Tokyo, the most busy railway system, recorded the highest number of passengers per year (1927 millions), whereas Kyoto stood at bottom with 45 million passengers only. London, Paris, Washigton DC, and Los Angeles recorded the annual passengers of 775m, 1191m, 144m, and 50m, respectively.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The student successfully covers all parts of the task by reporting the main features of the underground railway systems in the six cities and making relevant comparisons. An overview is provided right at the beginning, identifying the oldest and newest systems as well as extremes in route length and passenger numbers. Key data points such as opening dates, route lengths, and annual passenger volumes for London, Paris, Tokyo, Washington DC, Kyoto, and Los Angeles are accurately cited and grouped logically. While some data is listed sequentially rather than fully synthesized, the response satisfies all the core requirements of an Academic Task 1 summary, demonstrating a clear understanding of the visual information provided.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response is logically organized with a clear introduction, an overview paragraph, and detailed body paragraphs. Cohesive devices are used to guide the reader through comparisons and contrasts, such as "Overall," "while," "On the other hand," and "respectively." Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the overview from the specific data points. However, there are minor mechanical transitions and occasional stiffness in how sentences are linked together, but the overall progression of information remains clear and easy to follow throughout the response.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The vocabulary used is generally adequate and appropriate for the task, incorporating terms like "illustrates," "underground railway systems," "route," and "passengers per year." The student attempts some less common vocabulary and appropriate descriptive phrases such as "most busy railway system" and "stood at top." However, there are minor awkward collocations and word choice slips, such as "stood at top" instead of "ranked first" or "stood at bottom," as well as a spelling typo in "Washigton DC." Despite these minor inaccuracies, the range of vocabulary is sufficient to convey the numerical data clearly without impeding communication.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The student demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, utilizing clauses of concession and comparison effectively (e.g., "Whereas, Paris, Tokyo, Washington DC, and Kyoto was recorded..."). However, there are noticeable grammatical errors and awkward phrasing, such as the passive voice error "was recorded an opening" and minor punctuation issues. Despite these errors, the sentences are generally understandable and the major part of the grammar does not obscure the data being reported. There is a solid attempt at variety, though tighter control over passive structures and verb tenses would elevate the score further.

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