Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

The table below provides data about underground railway system in six major cities around the world .

Overall, the oldest railway was opened in 1863 in london,whereas the most recent was built in the year 2001 in los angeles. Subsequently,the longest railway system was the london with 394 km and the shorest was kyto with 11 km of rail tracks.

The very recent railways built were kyoto in the year 1981 and 20 years apart the los Angeles railway was built, with tracks under

30 kms and passenger carried under 50 million per year.

Between 1900 and 1976 three railways in paris,tokyo and Washington dc were built respectively,with each railway having tracks between the range of 125 to 200 km .Tokyo railway carried the highest number of passengers ever year aand and paris and Washington dc closly following behind . London's railway was the oldest built among all the other railways opening in the year 1863 with the longest route of 394 km amd transporting 775 million passengers yearly .

Overall ,all railways opened their services to the general public and have been transporting passengers in millions in numbers all year around .

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify several important features, including London as the oldest system and the longest, Kyoto as the shortest, and Tokyo as having the highest passenger total. These comparisons show a relevant understanding of the table. However, coverage is partial: the overview does not clearly summarise the overall contrast between older, larger systems and newer, smaller ones, and some figures are inaccurate or unclear. For example, Paris carried 1,191 million passengers, not merely a figure “closly following” Tokyo, while Washington carried only 144 million. The claim that Paris, Tokyo and Washington each had routes between 125 and 200 km is broadly accurate, but the passenger comparison needs precise reporting. Include the key extremes and accurate figures for all six cities, and avoid unsupported general statements such as all systems transporting passengers “all year around.”

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

The response has an opening, an overview-like paragraph and further comparisons, so there is some organisation. However, progression is difficult to follow because related information is repeated and the grouping is not consistently clear. London’s age, route length and passenger figure appear in both the second and fourth paragraphs, while the final sentence adds a broad statement rather than a useful comparison. Connect the data in a more deliberate order—for example, first compare opening dates and route lengths, then compare passenger numbers. Some linking expressions, such as “Subsequently” and “Between 1900 and 1976,” do not clearly show the relationship between the facts that follow. Clearer paragraph focus and more precise links would make the report easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some task-relevant vocabulary, including “route,” “tracks,” “passengers” and “longest,” and you attempt to describe comparisons. However, the range is limited and several word choices or forms are inaccurate, which sometimes makes the meaning less clear. “The very recent railways” is not a natural way to describe the newest systems, and “passenger carried” does not express passenger totals accurately. There are also spelling errors such as “shorest,” “kyto” and “closly,” alongside inconsistent capitalisation of city names. Use precise terms such as “annual passenger numbers,” “route length” and “newest system,” and check spelling and city-name capitalisation carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including a contrast with “whereas” and a sentence beginning “Between 1900 and 1976.” However, control is inconsistent, and errors in sentence structure, agreement, articles and punctuation sometimes make the report difficult to read. For example, “the longest railway system was the london” has an incorrect article and an awkward construction, while “Tokyo railway carried” is missing an article. The sentence beginning “The very recent railways built were…” is incomplete or unclear, and the final sentence has an awkward verb pattern. Several sentences also run together because punctuation and spacing are not controlled. Practise writing shorter, complete comparisons, then check articles, subject–verb agreement and sentence boundaries.

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