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 table compares the underground railway systems in six cities London, paris, Tokyo, Washington DC, Kyuto and Los Angeles.

Overall, In 1927, Tokyo city had the largest number of passengers per year wheras, kyoto city had the bare minimum numbers of the passengers in 1981.

In 1927, Tokyo had the maximum passengers as compared to other cities. On the other hand, paris was noticed surge in 1191 passengers 199 per kilometer of the route. Furthermore, London undergrown railway system was opened initially and the oldest among all of the cities was opened in 1863, the passengers count was 775 less than tokyo and paris. While the remaining three cities almost had the half of passengers as compared to the cities who had major traveller.

In terms of number of travellers per year tokyo and paris recived the first ranked to construct the underground railway facility. Despite having the smallest numbers of passenger in other cities recorded the short number of passengers who travelled very less due to insuffient underground railway system as presented in data since 1863 to 2001.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

The response attempts to address the task by summarising information from the table about underground railway systems, but it falls short in several key areas. The student attempts to report main features and comparisons, stating for example that Tokyo had the largest number of passengers and London was opened initially in 1863. However, the response contains significant factual confusions and misinterpretations of the data, such as claiming that Tokyo had the largest number of passengers in 1927 when 1927 is actually the opening date, and confusing passenger numbers with route kilometers and opening dates. Consequently, the overview and key details are inaccurate and confusingly presented. To reach a higher level, the writer must carefully read the column headers and data to ensure that statistics such as passenger numbers, route lengths, and dates are reported accurately and clearly without confusing the categories.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

The text is divided into paragraphs, showing some basic organisational structure. However, there is a lack of clear overall progression, and the logical relationship between sentences is frequently disrupted by confusing statements. While some cohesive devices are used, such as 'Overall', 'On the other hand', and 'Furthermore', they are often mechanically applied or do not accurately signal the logical connection between ideas. Referencing is also unclear at times, making it difficult for the reader to follow the intended comparisons. To improve in this area, the writer should ensure that each paragraph has a clear central topic, that cohesive devices are used to build logical arguments rather than just as decoration, and that referencing words clearly point to the correct data points being compared.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is limited and repetitive, with frequent issues regarding word choice, collocation, and word form. Examples include phrases like 'bare minimum numbers of the passengers', 'noticed surge', and 'undergrown railway system', which indicate a restricted control of lexical items. There are also noticeable errors in spelling and word form, such as 'wheras', 'paris', 'Kyuto', and 'insuffient', alongside awkward collocations like 'short number of passengers'. These errors occasionally cause difficulty for the reader in understanding the precise meaning. To achieve a higher score, the writer needs to expand their vocabulary range, learn correct word forms and spellings, and use terms related to data reporting—such as 'commuters', 'network', and 'extent'—with greater accuracy and natural collocation.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response demonstrates a very limited range of sentence structures, relying primarily on simple sentences and basic coordination. When the student attempts more complex structures, they are frequently faulty, leading to frequent grammatical errors. Examples include tense inconsistencies, such as 'tokyo city had the largest number of passengers per year wheras, kyoto city had the bare minimum numbers', missing articles, and awkward prepositions within grammatical patterns, such as 'recived the first ranked to construct'. Punctuation and capitalization errors, such as lowercase letters for city names like 'paris', are also present throughout the text. These frequent errors cause difficulty and strain for the reader. To improve, the writer should focus on mastering basic sentence construction, ensuring subject-verb agreement, using correct verb tenses for historical data, and correctly punctuating complex sentences.

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