Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-04
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 given table illustrates about underground railway systems in london, paris, tokyo, washington dc ,kyoto and los angeles. Overall, if we see london city underground railway systems in 1863, it covers 394 kilometers and 775 millions passenger annually. If we see tokyo city, the underground railway system was started in year 1927, which covers 155 kilometers but also passengers are 1927 millions annually.
Paris underground railway systems was started in year 1900, it covers 199 kilometers and 1191 millions passengers annually. The highest from london passengers annually.Washington DC underground railways were started in 1976 and it runs 126 kilometers and 144 millions passengers annually. kyoto and los angeles started in 1981 and 2001 and runs 11 and 28 kilometers , kyoto have lowest passengers taht is 45 millions per annually. Whereas, los angeles has 50 millions passengers annulil.
Tokyo and paris are the city that have high passengers all over years.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 4.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0
The response partially addresses the task by selecting some key features from the table, such as data for London, Tokyo, and Paris. However, the selection of information is limited and lacks a fully developed overview. For instance, the overview provided at the end ("Tokyo and paris are the city that have high passengers all over years") is overly simplistic and fails to accurately capture the wider trends across all six cities. Several data points are under-developed or presented in a mechanical, listing style without adequate comparison between the older, larger systems and the newer, smaller ones like Kyoto and Los Angeles. To move to a higher level, the writer needs to present a clearer and more comprehensive overview of the main trends and integrate comparisons more effectively across the entire dataset.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5
The response shows some organization with basic paragraphing, but there is no clear overall progression of ideas. Cohesive devices are minimal, repetitive, or inaccurate, relying heavily on mechanical transitions like "If we see" and "Whereas". Paragraphing is disjointed, with a single-sentence final paragraph that fails to effectively summarize the main body points. Referencing is sometimes unclear, making it difficult to follow the logical flow of comparisons between cities. To achieve a higher score, the writer must improve the logical progression of ideas by using a wider variety of cohesive devices more accurately and structuring the paragraphs to group related data logically, such as comparing older versus newer railway systems.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is limited and minimally adequate for the task. The writer relies on basic terms and repeats words like "kilometers," "passengers," and "annually." There are noticeable lexical errors and awkward word formations, such as "millions passenger," "millions passengers annually," "taht," and "annulil" (annually). While the intended meaning is usually clear despite these errors, the lack of range and flexibility restricts the response. To progress, the writer should incorporate a wider variety of synonyms and less common vocabulary related to data reporting, such as "serves," "annual ridership," "network length," and "commenced operations," while paying closer attention to spelling and word forms.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The response demonstrates a very limited range of sentence structures, relying mostly on simple sentences and repetitive clause patterns like "[City] underground railway systems was started in [year], it covers...". Attempts at complex structures are frequently faulty, leading to grammar errors such as subject-verb agreement issues (e.g., "kyoto have lowest passengers", "Tokyo and paris are the city that have"), missing articles, and awkward phrasing (e.g., "The highest from london passengers annually"). Frequent errors in punctuation and basic grammar cause some difficulty and strain for the reader. To improve, the writer needs to use a greater variety of complex grammatical structures with better control over verb tenses, plurals, and subject-verb agreement.
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