Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)

The table describes the opening date, route length and passenger per year for the underground railway systems from 6 different cities around the world.

Overall, London is the pioneer of the underground railway system as well as London has the longest route amog all 6 cities. However, Tokyo carries the most number of passenger per year.

London opened its underground railway in 1863. Paris, Tokyo, Washington DC and Kyoto followed London in the year 1900, 1927, 1976 and 1981 respectively. Los Angeles is the latest among 6 cities which introduced the undergeround railway system in 2000.

London has the longest route with 394 kilometers while Kyoto has only 11 kilometers of underground railway system. In descending order, Paris, Tokyo, Washington DC and Los Angeles have 199, 155,126 and 28 kilometers respectively.

Tokyo has the most number of passangers per year with 1927 million people. Paris also carries more than thousand million passengers per year. London and Washington DC have 775 million and 144 million passangers per year. Kyoto and Los Angeles have 45 million and 50 million passanger per year only as they have shortest route length.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response successfully addresses all parts of the prompt by presenting an overview and reporting the main features of the underground railway systems. The student covers all the key categories provided in the table, such as opening dates, route lengths, and passenger numbers. However, some areas are more fully developed than others; for instance, the comparison of passenger numbers contains general statements, and the conclusion regarding Kyoto and Los Angeles assumes a direct correlation between route length and passenger numbers that is not fully elaborated. To move to a higher level, the response would need to provide a more fully developed selection of data with deeper analysis rather than simply listing figures across paragraphs.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The text demonstrates a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction, an overview paragraph, and distinct body paragraphs grouping the data logically by categories and cities. Cohesive devices are used adequately, such as 'Overall,' 'while,' and 'respectively,' which help structure the comparisons. However, cohesion is occasionally mechanical or repetitive in its reliance on listing patterns. Referencing and paragraphing are generally clear, but smoother transitions between the chronological details in paragraph three and the route lengths in paragraph four would enhance the overall flow and logical progression of the text.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, successfully conveying information about dates, measurements, and quantities. The student makes successful attempts at less common vocabulary, such as 'pioneer' and 'descending order.' However, there are some minor word choice and spelling inaccuracies that occur, such as 'passanger' instead of 'passenger,' 'amog' instead of 'among,' and 'undergeround' instead of 'underground.' These errors do not impede communication, but eliminating them and incorporating a slightly wider range of precise lexical items would improve the quality of the lexical resource.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The writing demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing structures like subordinate clauses with 'while' and list formations with 'respectively.' There are some errors in grammar and punctuation, such as missing plural markers in 'passenger per year' and occasional preposition slips, but these errors rarely impede communication and the majority of simple structures remain accurate. To achieve a higher level, the student should aim to produce a greater frequency of error-free complex sentences and exercise tighter control over article usage and subject-verb agreement.

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