Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-09-30
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 illustrates the information the underground railway systems in six different cities.
Overall, underground railway system was firstly development in London as well as it also has more routes in comparison with other countries but in figures of passenger per year Tokyo is standing on the top of list.
To commence with, underground railway system was firstly introduced in london in 1863 and it also has more routes than any other country which are about 394 and it carry about 775 million travellers per year. Moreover, in paris and tokyo it was developed in 1900 and 1927 respectively. These cities have seperately 199 and 155 routes and carry 1191 and 1927 million passengers per year almost double than any other city.
To elaborate with, in Washington DC it was constructed in 1976 and has 126 routes. It is carrying 144 million peoples per year. Kyoto is the city which have just 11 routes in its underground railway
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 prompt by summarising the main features of the table, noting that London opened first and has the most routes, while Tokyo has the highest number of passengers per year. However, the response contains several inaccuracies in reporting the data. For example, the writer confuses the number of kilometers of route with the number of routes, stating that Paris and Tokyo have 'seperately 199 and 155 routes' and that Washington DC has '126 routes' (which are actually the route lengths in kilometers). Furthermore, the data for Kyoto and Los Angeles is incomplete, as Los Angeles is entirely omitted from the body paragraphs. Consequently, the task is only partially addressed, aligning with a Band 5.0.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0
The response has an introduction and body paragraphs, showing some attempt at organisation, but there is no clear overall progression. Paragraphing is poorly handled, with the final paragraph abruptly cut off mid-sentence ('Kyoto is the city which have just 11 routes in its underground railway'). Cohesive devices are used awkwardly or repetitively, such as 'To commence with' and 'To elaborate with', which do not flow naturally. Referencing is also sometimes confusing, particularly in the way data is linked across cities. These structural weaknesses and mechanical cohesion place the response at Band 5.0.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is basic and repetitive, relying heavily on simple terms like 'city', 'routes', 'passengers', and 'year'. There are several noticeable lexical errors and inappropriate word choices, such as 'development' instead of 'developed', 'travellers' instead of 'passengers', and confusing 'routes' with kilometers of route. Spelling errors such as 'seperately' also occur. While the vocabulary is minimally adequate to convey basic ideas about the table, the range is limited and contains errors that cause some difficulty, fitting the Band 5.0 descriptor.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The student attempts some complex structures, but these are often faulty or marred by basic grammatical errors. Examples include 'underground railway system was firstly development in London', 'it carry about 775 million travellers', and 'Kyoto is the city which have just 11 routes'. There are frequent errors in verb tense, subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'city which have'), and word form. Punctuation and sentence boundaries are also weak, leading to run-on structures. These persistent errors place the grammar score at Band 5.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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