Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 4.5 · 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 4.5)
The table gives the information about the underground railway system in six cities. Main headings of the table were city, date opened, kilometers of route and passengers per year that is in millions.
In Tokyo, the date opened was 1927, in this the kilometers of route was 155 and has the peak passengers in the year was 1927 as comapared to the other cities that were listed in the table whereas, Kyoto was having the least passengers in the year by 45 only in the year 1981 then the other cities.
London was having the more kilometers of route but the passengers in that year was only 775. In addition, Paris was having passengers of 1191 while the kilometers of the route was 199 and the year that was mention in the table by 1900.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 4.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 4.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 4.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0
The response sits at a lower level because it only responds to the task minimally. It fails to meet the minimum word count of 150 words, coming in at 135 words, which limits the development of the response. While the student attempts to mention some figures from the table, the data reporting is incomplete and lacks a clear overview of the main features or trends. Instead of summarising key comparisons, the writing presents isolated and sometimes inaccurate details, such as confusing passenger numbers with the year in Tokyo ('the peak passengers in the year was 1927'). To improve, the writer must ensure the word count requirement is met, provide an initial overview paragraph highlighting key trends, and select and compare data points more accurately.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5
The information and ideas are not arranged coherently, reflecting a weak overall progression. The writing is divided into short, disjointed paragraphs that lack a logical flow. While some basic cohesive devices like 'whereas' and 'In addition' are attempted, they are used clumsily within poorly structured sentences, making it difficult for the reader to follow comparisons between the cities. Referencing is also unclear, particularly with pronoun and connective usage. To achieve a higher band, the student needs to organise information into logical paragraphs, such as grouping cities by size or opening dates, and use cohesive devices more naturally to guide the reader smoothly through the comparisons.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is basic and repetitive, showing a limited range that is barely adequate for the task. The student frequently relies on simple phrasing such as 'gives the information', 'date opened', and 'kilometers of route' lifted directly from the prompt. There are noticeable lexical errors and awkward word choices, such as 'Kyoto was having the least passengers' and 'the year that was mention in the table by 1900', which cause some difficulty for the reader. To improve, the student should expand their vocabulary related to data trends and statistics, learn correct collocations, and practice using less common lexical items accurately without lifting whole phrases directly from the task prompt.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The grammatical range is very limited, relying heavily on repetitive and faulty sentence patterns. The student attempts complex structures, but these are frequently inaccurate, as seen in awkward constructions like 'in this the kilometers of route was 155' and 'the passengers in that year was only 775' (agreement errors). Errors in tense usage, prepositions inside grammatical patterns, and punctuation occur frequently throughout the text, often straining meaning and making the sentences difficult to parse. To reach the next level, the writer needs to demonstrate a greater variety of sentence structures with control over basic subject-verb agreement, accurate verb tenses, and correct preposition use when describing statistical data.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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