Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-01
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 provides data on the internal tracks of railway in six cities namely, London, Paris, Tokyo, Washington DC, Kyoto and Lon Angeles.
Overall, we can see that the city Kyoto has the smallest amount of passengers per year as well as the route is short, at the same time London has a longer track, whereas Tokyo has the highest proportion of individuals per year.
London railway, which was established in 1863 travels 394 kilometers of route and 775 passengers are recorded per year. The second city, which is Paris (developed in 1900)covers 199 kilometers also has the second highest percentage of passengers. The railway line of Tokyo, developed in 1927 travels shorter route which is 155 kilometers and it records the greatest proportion of passengers, which is 1927.
The railway of 1976 (Washington DC) travels only 126 kilometers and records 144 million passengers annually. In addition, Kyoto's railway covers 11 kilometer of route and 45 million of the public uses this each year, the Los Angeles railway of 2001 covers 28 kilometers and records 50 million passengers each year.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The response addresses the main features of the table, covering opening dates, route lengths, and passenger numbers for the six cities. However, the treatment of the data is somewhat uneven. While some comparisons are attempted, key trends—such as the inverse relationship between network age and passenger volume in older systems—are missed or only partially explored. The overview highlights a few points, such as Kyoto having the smallest passenger numbers and shortest route, but the formulation is slightly awkward ('as well as the route is short'). Overall, the task is addressed, but certain comparisons and details remain under-developed or mechanically listed rather than synthesised fluently.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The essay presents a coherent overall arrangement with a discernible introduction, overview, and body paragraphs. However, the progression between ideas feels mechanical at times. Cohesive devices are used, but their application can be clumsy or repetitive, such as the frequent reliance on 'and' to link clauses within complex sentences, or phrases like 'The second city, which is Paris'. Paragraphing is present, grouping the cities into categories or individual descriptions, but referencing is occasionally unclear, which disrupts the flow and logical progression across the text.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for the task, successfully incorporating terms like 'established', 'covers', 'proportion', and 'annually'. There are attempts to use less common vocabulary, such as 'proportion of individuals' and 'greatest proportion of passengers', but these are occasionally imprecise or inappropriate in collocation. Some word-choice errors occur, such as referring to 'internal tracks of railway' instead of underground railway systems, and a typo in the city name ('Lon Angeles'), though these do not seriously impede communication.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, attempting relative clauses ('which was established in 1863') and participial phrases. However, control over these complex structures is inconsistent, leading to noticeable structural errors and punctuation slips. For instance, sentences like 'Overall, we can see that the city Kyoto has the smallest amount of passengers per year as well as the route is short' exhibit faulty coordination and awkward phrasing. Frequent errors in prepositions, article usage, and clause structure persist, though they rarely impede overall communication.
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