Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-09-29
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 compares the data about the underway railway route system in six different countries (London, Paris, Tokyo, Washington DC, Kyoto and Los Angeles).
Overall, London city's railway track is the oldest(1863) and the longest(394 km), whereas Kyoto and Los Angeles are the up to date and the shortest tracks i.e.(2001 and 11 km) respectively. Similarly, the most passengers travellend using Tokyo track and least numbers travelled through Kyoto track with at most 45 millions travellers per year.
Firstly, the railway tracks of Tokyo and Paris cities have the highest no of travellers throughout the year, both surpassing over one thousand travellers per year. Even though both the cities have greatest numbers of passengers, Tokyo is leading with over 700 railway users as compared to the Paris, with london just behind them accumulating over 775 millions of passengers each year. The passengers of Kyoto and Los Angeles cities are the least on the entire chart with only 45 and 50 millions of travellers throughout the year.
Secondly, in terms of distance, London city track is the longest and Kyoto is the shortest. While all the cities underground tracks are in three digit numbers, two cities Kyoto and Los Angeles are the only cities with two digit numbers.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0
The student attempts to address the task by summarizing the main features of the table, including dates opened, route lengths, and passenger numbers. An overview is provided in the second paragraph, identifying extremes such as London's age and length versus Kyoto and Los Angeles being the newest and shortest. However, there are notable reporting inaccuracies and confusing comparisons. For instance, the student states that Tokyo and Paris have 'over one thousand travellers per year' and later mentions 'over 700 railway users as compared to the Paris, with london just behind them accumulating over 775 millions of passengers', which misinterprets the millions unit and creates numerical confusion. While main features are selected, the development and data reporting contain factual errors regarding the prompt figures.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0
The response is organized into an introduction, an overview, and subsequent body paragraphs using transitional markers like 'Overall', 'Firstly', and 'Secondly'. However, paragraphing and logical progression are hindered by confusing sequencing and repetitive statements about the same data points across paragraphs. Referencing is occasionally unclear, such as pronoun use and imprecise city comparisons. Cohesive devices are used, but they sometimes feel mechanical or fail to clarify the relationships between the data sets. Overall, the essay maintains an identifiable structure, but the logical flow suffers from contradictory or muddled comparisons.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is generally adequate for the task, attempting words like 'accumulating', 'surpassing', and 'respective'. However, there are noticeable inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'underway railway route system' instead of 'underground railway system', 'travellend', and confusing references to passenger numbers as 'over one thousand travellers'. There are also minor spelling and phrasing errors that occasionally cause confusion for the reader. The lexical range is limited to basic and somewhat repetitive terms when describing data trends.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and subordinate structures such as 'Even though both the cities have greatest numbers of passengers...'. However, grammatical control is inconsistent, resulting in frequent errors including missing articles ('with london just behind them', 'the Paris'), incorrect prepositions, and awkward phrasing ('the up to date and the shortest tracks i.e.(2001 and 11 km) respectively'). While these errors do not completely obscure the general meaning, they occur frequently enough to impede smooth communication and detract from grammatical accuracy.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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