Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)

The table illustrates the information about the underground railway systems in six cities.

Overall, London underground railway system is considered as the oldest system compared with other cities. In contrast, the railway system of Paris accounted for the largest number of passengers travelled each year, while London railway system covers the longest route in terms of kilometers.

In 1863, London underground railway system was opened, which covers 394 kilometers of route. It carries 775 million passengers every year. Additionally, Paris underground railway system was inaugurated in 1900, covers 199 kilometers of route and carries 1191 million passengers per year. Moreover, the underground railway system of Tokyo was established in 1927 which covers the route of 155 kilometers in total and carries 1927 million passengers each year to their destination.

On the other hand, the underground railway system of Washington DC was constructed in 1976. It travels 126 kilometers of route and carries 144 million passengers annually. In addition, Kyoto underground railway system was established in 1981 and covers the shortest route of 11 kilometers and carries a smallest number of passengers, 45 million passengers per year respectively. Furthermore, the underground railway system of Los Angeles was recently opened in 2001, which travels 28 kilometers in total. It carries 50 million passengers annually.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response satisfies the minimum word count, noting that 9 words copied directly from the prompt were excluded. You successfully address all parts of the task by selecting and reporting the main features of the underground railway systems across the six cities, while making relevant comparisons. An overview is provided in the second paragraph, highlighting London as the oldest, Paris as having the highest passenger volume, and London as having the longest route. However, some parts of the task are developed more fully than others. While you give precise figures for opening dates, route lengths, and passengers, the specific details in the body paragraphs tend to list data sequentially rather than fully synthesizing or deeply comparing all metrics across the cities. To reach the next level, the overview and supporting details could integrate comparisons more holistically, rather than treating each city individually in separate blocks.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response presents a coherent overall arrangement with a clear logical progression from an introductory statement to an overview, followed by grouped body paragraphs. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different features of the cities. However, cohesion can sometimes feel mechanical or repetitive, particularly in the heavy reliance on transitional phrases at the start of sentences, such as 'In addition,' 'Moreover,' 'On the other hand,' and 'Furthermore.' While referencing is generally understandable, the flow between sentences occasionally feels like a list of disconnected facts rather than a smoothly connected discussion. To achieve a higher band, you should use a wider variety of cohesive devices more flexibly and ensure that transitions integrate ideas fluidly without relying on formulaic linkers.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

Your vocabulary range is adequate for the task, allowing you to successfully describe dates, distances, and passenger numbers. You attempt some less common vocabulary, such as 'inaugurated' and 'annually', alongside standard reporting verbs like 'illustrates', 'accounted for', and 'established'. However, there are some minor inaccuracies in word choice and collocation. For instance, stating that 'the railway system of Paris accounted for the largest number of passengers travelled each year' contains an awkward phrasing ('passengers travelled'), and 'carries a smallest number of passengers' should use the definite article. There are also slight repetitions of basic descriptive verbs. To move to the next level, you should incorporate a wider variety of precise phrasing and collocation with fewer minor lexical slips.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses such as 'which covers 394 kilometers of route' and 'which was recently opened in 2001'. There are some errors in grammar and punctuation, but they rarely impede communication. Examples include minor agreement and prepositions issues, such as 'covers the route of 155 kilometers' or adding an unnecessary 'respectively' at the end of a list where it does not fit contextually ('45 million passengers per year respectively'). Complex structures are attempted with moderate success, but occasional minor slips persist. To reach the next level, you need to produce a higher proportion of error-free sentences while maintaining a wider and more ambitious variety of complex syntactic structures.

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.