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 provides information of underground railway systems across three distinct countries. It provides data of London, Paris, Tokyo, Washington DC, Kyoto and lastly Los Angeles.

Overall, mostly countries railway system opened in 19's although London introduced earlier in 1863 and Lon Angeles lately in 20's. Meanwhile Kyoto demonstrated the lowest figure in terms of distance and travellers. Although Tokyo remained dominant among the passengers category.

Looking into the data provided, reveals that London proposed railway system in 1863 earlier than all other countries. While Paris and Tokyo projected in 1900 and 1927, respectively. Washington and Kyoto someway behind at 1976 and 1981, respectively. And finally Los Angeles by 2001.

Turning to the remaining details which exhibited that Kyoto railway has smallest route comprised of only 11km whereas London railway covered the distance of 394km, which made it the highest figure among all. In terms of people travelling through these railways has substancial figure in Tokyo, approximately 1927 million passengers which is followed by Paris, experienced 1191 million people. Contrastly, Kyoto observed only 45 million travelers attention throughout the year.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response successfully addresses all parts of the task by covering the main features of the underground railway systems across the six cities. You provide an overview and make relevant comparisons, such as noting that Tokyo had the highest number of passengers at 1927 million and Kyoto had the smallest route at 11km. However, some ideas are slightly under-developed or imprecise, such as your opening claim that the systems span 'three distinct countries' when cities like London and Paris are in different nations, and minor inaccuracies in data interpretation. To reach a higher band, ensure all comparative overviews are completely accurate and fully extended without vague generalisations.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

Your response has a coherent overall arrangement with a clear attempt at paragraphing, introducing an overview and dividing the detailed data logically into separate paragraphs. However, cohesion is sometimes faulty or mechanical. For instance, transitional phrases like 'Looking into the data provided, reveals that...' and 'Turning to the remaining details which exhibited that...' are awkward and create a jerky flow. Referencing and logical progression can be improved by integrating cohesive devices more naturally rather than relying on formulaic transitions. Better paragraph internal linking would lift this section further.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting less common terms such as 'dominant', 'substancial', and 'travelers attention'. However, there are noticeable spelling and word-choice errors, such as 'substancial' instead of substantial, 'Lon Angeles' instead of Los Angeles, and the awkward phrase 'Contrastly' instead of In contrast. Your vocabulary is minimally adequate to convey your message, but these lexical inaccuracies and spelling slips prevent you from achieving a higher score. To improve, focus on precise word choices and correct spelling of key terms found in the prompt.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as 'While Paris and Tokyo projected in 1900 and 1927, respectively.' However, there are frequent errors in grammar and sentence structure, including missing verbs or passive voice issues ('mostly countries railway system opened', 'Paris and Tokyo projected'), incorrect prepositions ('in 19's'), and run-on structures. These errors require some effort from the reader to interpret. To move up to the next band, you need to increase your proportion of error-free sentences and ensure better control over tense usage, active/passive voice distinction, and article placement.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

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