Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-07

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)

The table shows the information about the underground railway systems in six cities with date opened, distance of the route, and passengers travelled per year.

Overall, the underground railway systems in six cities of different countries in the table provides the data for each railway system like the opening date and the distance of the route in kilometers and the total number of passengers travelled through this system in millions.

The railway system of London opened in 1863 and have a longest route of 394 kilometers than the other railway systems but stands at 3rd state in order of total passengers travelled which is 775 million. whereas the railway of Paris opened in 1900 with the route of 199 kilometers having the 2nd longest route in the data and 1191 million people travelled through it. while the railway system opened in 1927 of Tokyo shows the highest number of travellers travelled through which is 1927 million peolpe while the length of its route this route is 155 kilometers.

On the other hand, in 1976 the railway system of Washington DC was opened and facilited 144 million individuals to travell with 126 kilometers route's length. though Kyoto's railway system was opened in 1981 having least length of the route which is 11 km and the information shows the lowest number of passengers travelled. although the railway of Los Angeles opened in 2001 and 28 km is its route length while 50 million used this railway to travell.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the main dimensions in the table and make several relevant comparisons, including London’s longest route, Tokyo’s highest passenger total, and Kyoto’s shortest route and lowest usage. However, the overview largely repeats what the table contains rather than summarising its key patterns, and some comparisons are incomplete: for example, Washington DC’s passenger figure is reported without contrasting it with the other cities. The description also says London ranks third for passengers, although its 775 million is second-lowest, not third-highest. To strengthen the response, give a concise overview of the oldest/largest system and the busiest system, then report accurate comparisons across all six cities. (Nine words copied from the task prompt were not counted.)

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has an introduction, an overview paragraph and two body paragraphs, and the broad movement from older, larger systems to newer, smaller ones gives it some organisation. However, progression within the paragraphs is weakened by long, crowded sentences and abrupt transitions. Connectors such as “whereas,” “while,” “though” and “although” are often placed after full stops or used in ways that do not clearly show the relationship between the facts. The overview also repeats the introductory information instead of guiding the reader through the main comparisons. Use shorter, clearly structured comparison sentences and group the figures by a consistent feature, such as passenger numbers or route length.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for describing the table, including “route,” “opened,” “length” and “passengers,” and the reader can generally understand the intended comparisons. However, the range is limited and several phrases are repetitive or unnatural, such as “passengers travelled through this system” and “travellers travelled through.” Some word choices also reduce precision: “stands at 3rd state” is unclear, and “facilited” and “peolpe” contain spelling errors. Aim for concise, conventional data-reporting language and vary the terms for passenger totals without forcing synonyms. For example, “carried,” “recorded” and “served” can be used where appropriate, while “ranked” is clearer than “stands at … state.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including comparisons joined with “while” and “although,” but control is inconsistent. Errors occur in verb agreement and tense, as in “systems … provides” and “opened in 1863 and have”; the past-tense description should remain consistent. Several sentences also have faulty or incomplete structures, particularly the long sentence beginning “The railway system of London…” and the clause “while the length of its route this route is 155 kilometers.” Punctuation around sentence-initial “whereas,” “while” and “though” is also unreliable. Practise building complete sentences with one clear comparison at a time, checking subject–verb agreement and punctuation before adding subordinate clauses.

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