Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-06

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 compares the cities in terms of the year their underground railway systems were opened, the length of their routes, and the number of passengers they served annually.

Overall, the London had the oldest and the longest underground railway network compared to Los Angeles, which had the lowest. Despite the shorter network than London, Tokyo served the greatest number of passengers per year. In contrast, Kyoto and Los Angeles had the shortest railway network and the smallest riding figures.

London's underground railway system, inaugurated in 1863, was the oldest and the longest route, extended at 394 kilometers, and served 775 million passengers annually. Paris started its metro in 1900, had the second-largest route, at 199 kilometers, and riding 1191 million passengers annually. Tokyo began its railway network in 1927, despite having the shortest route than London, stretching at 155 kilometers, it is by far the busiest, transporting 1927 million passengers annually.

Remaining three cities had substantially the shortest network. Washingdon Dc, opened its mtero in 1976, extending at 126 kilometers and accommodating 144 million passangers per year. Kyoto, began operating in 1981, had the shortest route at about 11 kilometers and served only 45 million passengers annually. Los angeles started its network in 2001, had route streched to 28 kilometers and accommadate slightly more passengers than Kyoto, at 50 million.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

The response successfully covers all parts of the task by presenting an overview of the data and selecting and reporting the main features of the underground railway systems across the six cities. Key comparisons are made, such as highlighting London as the oldest and longest network, Tokyo as the busiest despite a shorter route, and Kyoto and Los Angeles as having the smallest figures. However, some ideas feel slightly extended while others could be more thoroughly supported with precise groupings. The overview clearly highlights the main trends, meeting the requirements well while showing the characteristic development of the band.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The essay displays a clear overall progression and coherent arrangement of information. Ideas are logically sequenced, moving from a general introductory overview into specific details about the older, larger systems, and concluding with the remaining smaller networks. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different categories of cities. Cohesive devices are employed reasonably well, such as 'Overall', 'In contrast', and 'Remaining three cities', though referencing and transitions occasionally feel slightly mechanical, preventing the text from reaching a higher level of cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is generally adequate for the task, successfully conveying the statistical data and comparisons. The student makes commendable attempts to use less common items such as 'inaugurated', 'accommodating', and 'busiest'. However, there are noticeable lexical and spelling inaccuracies that prevent a higher score, including typos like 'Washingdon Dc', 'mtero', 'passangers', and 'Los angeles', alongside awkward word choices such as 'riding 1191 million passengers' instead of 'carrying' or 'serving'. These minor errors do not impede communication but restrict the lexical score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The writing demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, with attempts at relative clauses and participial phrases, such as 'extended at 394 kilometers' and 'stretching at 155 kilometers'. There are several grammatical errors present, particularly concerning prepositions, article usage, and participle forms, such as 'the London had', 'shorter network than London', and 'had route streched'. These errors occur with some frequency but rarely impede the reader's understanding of the text, fitting the profile of a response that contains a mix of accurate structures alongside persistent minor slips.

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