Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

This Table data illustrates the under ground railway system information between six cities with their date of opening, route length and passengers travelling per year.

London railway station has longest route length while Kyoto has minimum.

Tokyo which is opened in 1927 has more number of passengers around 1927 million travelled per year in comparison to all six cities.Whereas Kyoto has minimum passenger 45 million travelled also has shortest route length 11 km.

Paris,Tokyo and Washington has route lengths between [redacted phone] km for example 199,155,126 respectivily, but their number of passengers vary Tokyo and Paris have in range of [redacted phone] millions on the other hand Washington DC has 144 million passengers travelled per year.

While Los Angeles have slight higher route length as compare to Kyoto but almost minimum in comparison to Paris becaue its route length is 28 km and Number of passeners 50 million are also with slight difference from Kyoto.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify several important comparisons, including London’s longest route, Kyoto’s shortest route, and Tokyo’s highest annual passenger figure. You also include relevant figures for Paris, Washington DC and Los Angeles. However, the overview is incomplete: the opening dates are mentioned only for London and Tokyo, and the age contrast between London and the newer systems is not summarised. Some comparisons are also unclear or imprecise, such as saying Paris and Tokyo have passenger numbers “in range of 1000-2000” without distinguishing their figures. To strengthen the response, give a concise overview of the main patterns across all three measures, then report accurate comparisons that cover the full table.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable sequence: it introduces the table, highlights extremes, and then compares groups of cities. Linking expressions such as “Whereas” and “While” help signal contrasts. However, the organisation is not consistently clear because the information is presented as one continuous block, with no distinct overview or well-defined paragraphs. Some links are awkward or leave relationships unclear, particularly “but their number of passengers vary” and the final comparison of Los Angeles with Kyoto and Paris. Group the information into an overview and focused detail paragraphs, and use connectors only where the comparison is explicit. This would make the progression easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant topic vocabulary, including “route length,” “passengers,” and “per year,” and you attempt comparative language such as “shortest” and “slight higher.” However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate, which sometimes makes the meaning less natural: “underground railway system information,” “passengers travelled,” and “minimum passenger” are examples. There are also noticeable spelling errors, including “respectivily,” “becaue,” and “passeners.” Use standard table-reporting phrases such as “annual passenger numbers” and “the shortest route,” and check spelling carefully. More precise vocabulary would help you describe the data clearly without relying on repeated or awkward phrasing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including contrasts introduced by “Whereas” and “While,” and the main comparisons can generally be understood. However, errors recur in sentence construction, agreement, articles and punctuation. For example, “Tokyo which is opened in 1927 has more number” has an incorrect verb form and an awkward structure, while “Paris,Tokyo and Washington has” has faulty agreement and missing spacing after commas. The long final sentence also joins several comparisons without clear grammatical boundaries. Practise forming concise sentences with accurate subject–verb agreement and use commas and full stops to separate distinct points. This will make your meaning more consistently clear.

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