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 provided table compares data illustrares about the underground transport systems in six different cities, dealing their opening dates, rpute lengths in kilometers, and annual passengers counts in millions.
Overall, the oldest and the longest subway networks do not necessarily have highest nymber of passengers.The older systems established in European and Asian countries generally feature significantly more extensive routes and larger annual ridership figures compares to newer, more compact network found in the remaining cities.
Looking at first at the more established systems, London boasts the oldest underground railway, which opened in 1863. It also features the longest network at 394 kilometers, serving 775 milion passengers annually. In contrast, Tokyo's system, established later in 1927, has shorter route length of 155 kilometers but records the highest annual ridership among all six cities, at 1,927 milion passengers. Paris falls between the two, opening in 1990 with a 199 kilometer network that accommodates 1,191 milion commuters per year.
Regarding the networks, Washington DC's system opened in 1976 and covers a sustantial 126 kilometers, though it attracts only 144 milion passengers yearly. The underground network s in Kyoto and Los Angeles are the most recently built, opening in 1981 and 2001 respectively. THESE
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The student successfully covers all parts of the task by selecting and reporting the main features of the underground railway systems table, highlighting key comparisons regarding dates, route lengths, and passenger numbers. An overview is provided that captures the general trend regarding network age versus ridership. However, the response cuts off abruptly at the end ('THESE') before finishing the final comparison or concluding thought. Despite this incomplete ending, the main features are adequately addressed. For this reason, it aligns well with Band 6.0, as all parts of the prompt are touched upon, though the development is slightly curtailed by the unfinished text.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0
The response has a clear overall arrangement with an introductory paragraph, an overview, and body paragraphs that logically group the data into established versus newer systems. Cohesive devices such as 'In contrast', 'Regarding', and 'respectively' are used to guide the reader through the comparisons. Paragraphing is appropriately handled to separate different groups of cities. However, referencing and logical progression are slightly disrupted by minor typos (e.g., 'Looking at first at') and the abrupt cut-off at the conclusion. Cohesion is functional overall, earning a solid Band 6.5.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for a data-summarisation task, employing terms like 'ridership', 'subway networks', 'accommodates', and 'substantial'. There are, however, several noticeable spelling and typographical errors throughout the text, such as 'illustrares', 'rpute', 'nymber', 'compares', 'milion', and 'sustantial'. Furthermore, there are some minor word-form slips ('opening in 1990' instead of 1900 for Paris). These errors do not impede communication, but they prevent the score from reaching higher bands. This performance fits the Band 6.0 descriptor well.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, incorporating relative clauses ('which opened in 1863') and comparative structures with reasonable control. There are several grammatical and mechanical inaccuracies, such as missing articles ('the highest nymber'), incorrect prepositions or phrasing ('compared to newer, more compact network'), and the incomplete final sentence. Nevertheless, the majority of sentences are understandable, and the errors only occasionally distract the reader rather than obscure the core meaning. This level of control is characteristic of Band 6.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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