Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)
The table below presents the information about the underground railway system in six cities and provides some basic details about them.
Overall, tokyo railway systems are well utilized by their public while in Kyoto, not much people use trains for travelling. Meanwhile, London has the longest routes among all the railway routes.
The railway system in London was initiated in 1863 and it was the most earliest opening railway, as well as it has the longest route (394km) and 775 million passengers travelled through this. In Paris the trains cover about 200 km distance while 1191 million people used it and it was opened in 1900. The Tokyo train system was initiated in 1927, it cover a distance of 155km and trasports 1927 million of the population which is the highest.
In Washington DC the railway started in 1976 and covers 126 km and 144 million people utilize it. The Kyoto is a country in which there is shorted railway route anout 11 km while trasports 45 million people and started in 1981. In 2001 a train route opened in Los Angeles which was of 28 km and 50 million persons used it.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The student attempts to cover all parts of the task by reporting the main features from the table, such as dates opened, route lengths, and passenger numbers. An overview is attempted in the second paragraph, highlighting Tokyo's high usage and London's long routes. However, there are factual inaccuracies and misinterpretations of the data. For instance, the student states that Tokyo transports 1927 million of the population, which misreads the passenger data (1,927 million passengers, not population percentage), and refers to Kyoto as a 'country' rather than a city. Furthermore, data presentation is somewhat mechanical, listing data point by data point rather than selecting and reporting the most salient comparative features effectively. This places the response in Band 5.5 to 6.0; it addresses all parts but contains noticeable inaccuracies in data reporting.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0
The response has a basic organizational structure with an introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs. Paragraphing is attempted, though the third and fourth paragraphs group multiple cities rather densely. Cohesive devices such as 'Overall', 'Meanwhile', and 'In Paris' are used to connect ideas, but referencing is sometimes faulty, such as 'The Kyoto is a country in which...' which breaks logical flow. Progression is somewhat linear and mechanical rather than smoothly developed, leading to a choppy reading experience. Overall, the arrangement is coherent enough to follow, matching the requirements for Band 6.0.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, with domain-specific terms like 'railway system', 'routes', 'passengers', and 'distance'. However, there are frequent lexical errors and inappropriate word choices, such as 'most earliest' (a double superlative), 'trasports' (spelling error), 'shorted' (intended shortest), and referring to Kyoto as a 'country'. Less common vocabulary is attempted with limited accuracy. These vocabulary errors do not entirely impede communication, but they restrict the lexical score to Band 5.5.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The student uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as 'Overall, tokyo railway systems are well utilized by their public while in Kyoto, not much people use trains for travelling.' However, grammatical accuracy is weak. There are issues with capitalization ('tokyo'), subject-verb agreement ('not much people use', noting 'people' requires 'many'), comparative forms ('most earliest'), and punctuation errors. Prepositional and article usage is also inconsistent (e.g., 'in Tokyo train system'). Because errors are frequent across both simple and complex sentences, the grammar aligns best with Band 5.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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