Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-03
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 given table chart illustrate the railway systems among six cities.
Overall, it can be seen that london railway system was most oldest and their route were also longest. However, maximum passengers travel by tokyo railway system and minimum passngers used kyoto railway system.
Looking at the table chart in more details, first of all most longest route rail system of london 394 kilometres and 775 million passengers traveled by this train per year. Furthermore, 1191 million passengers used paris railway system which was opened in the first year of 20th century. The railway system of tokyo started in 1927 and it was route of 155 kilometers and it is used by large number of passengers every year.
Moreover, washington DC railway system opened in 1976 route of 144 kilometers and 144 milion passengers travelled by this train per year. In addition, railway system of kyoto which have only 11 kilometers route and only 45 million passengers used this every year. Furthermore, los agles railway system opened in 2001 with the route of 28 and 45 million passengers travelled through this system.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The response addresses the task partially by reporting some main features and making basic comparisons, such as noting that London had the oldest system and longest route, while Tokyo had the most passengers. However, some ideas remain limited and under-developed, and the overview lacks clarity in places with inaccurate comparisons, such as stating that Tokyo had the maximum passengers when the table shows it actually had 1927 million passengers, which is the highest, but the summary is somewhat generalised. To move to a higher band, the writer needs to present a fully developed overview and select and highlight key features more accurately and thoroughly across all data points.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0
The response demonstrates some overall organisation with a clear division into paragraphs, including an introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs detailing specific cities. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Overall', 'However', 'Furthermore', and 'In addition', though some referencing and mechanical linking are slightly repetitive or clumsy. The progression of ideas is generally logical, moving from a broad summary to specific details about each city's opening date, route length, and passenger numbers. To achieve a higher band, the writer must ensure more natural and varied cohesion without relying on mechanical transitions, alongside clearer logical progression between sentences.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is limited but minimally adequate to convey the basic information from the table. The writer attempts some less common vocabulary and task-specific terms like 'railway system', 'route', and 'passengers', but noticeable errors in word choice and spelling are present, such as 'passngers', 'most oldest', 'los agles', and 'milion'. These errors reflect a restricted range and occasional spelling inaccuracies that cause some difficulty for the reader. To improve, the student should expand their lexical range, focus on precise word choices for data reporting, and improve spelling and word formation.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The response uses a limited range of sentence structures, with frequent simple sentences and attempts at complex structures that are often faulty, such as missing verbs and prepositions (e.g., 'washington DC railway system opened in 1976 route of 144 kilometers'). There are frequent errors in grammar, subject-verb agreement, and articles throughout the text, including 'table chart illustrate' and 'their route were also longest'. These errors require effort from the reader to decode meaning. To reach a higher level, the writer must incorporate a wider variety of complex grammatical structures with accurate punctuation and reduce basic grammatical slips.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.