Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · 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 4.5)

The table given illustrats the underground railway systems in six cities. Oveerall, the construction of railway devoted by the time period followe by kilometers of route and the passengers carrying per year. Where, Tokyo has the highest number of passengers and Kyoto has lowest per year.

In London, railway route was invented in 1863 with longest distance of 394 km carrying 775 passengers. In 1900's, Paris running with individuals with 1991 at 199km , Tokyo carried 1927 travellers anf the train run at 155 km, Washington DC holded 144 ticket holder and Kyoto had least passangers with 45 with a distance of 11km.

In 2001, Los Angeles hads little raise in traveller of 50 and the distance coverd was 28.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0

You identify the table’s subject and give a broad overview, correctly noting that Tokyo has the most passengers and Kyoto the fewest. However, the response reports only a small part of the information and does not clearly compare all six systems. Some figures are inaccurate or unclear: Paris is listed as having “1991” passengers, whereas the table gives 1,191 million, and London’s 775 is described as passengers without specifying the annual figure. The opening dates and several route lengths are omitted or not clearly connected to the cities. The response is also 30 words below the required minimum, limiting the detail available. To improve, include a clear overview of the oldest/largest and newest/smallest systems, then accurately compare the key figures across the table.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has a basic structure: an introduction and overview, followed by details about several cities. This gives the reader some sense of organisation, and the city names help signal changes in information. However, progression is uneven: London, Paris, Tokyo, Washington DC and Kyoto are grouped into one long sentence, while Los Angeles is isolated in a very short final paragraph. The linking word “Where” does not connect the overview ideas grammatically, and the sequence of dates and figures is difficult to follow. Organise the details into clearer groups, such as older systems and newer systems, and use complete sentences with explicit comparisons. This would make the information easier to track without relying on a list-like sequence.

Lexical Resource: Band 4.5

You use some task-related vocabulary, including “underground railway systems,” “route,” “distance” and “passengers,” so the topic is generally recognisable. However, the range is limited and several choices are inaccurate or unnatural, which sometimes makes the data hard to interpret. For example, “railway was invented” does not mean that a system opened, and “carrying 775 passengers” does not clearly express an annual total. There are also noticeable spelling errors, including “illustrats,” “Oveerall,” “passangers” and “coverd.” Choose precise terms for describing a table, such as “opened,” “route length” and “annual passenger numbers,” and check spelling carefully. Avoid substituting vague expressions such as “little raise” for a specific comparison.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

The response attempts both simple and longer sentence forms, but control is inconsistent and errors frequently affect clarity. For instance, “Where, Tokyo has the highest number of passengers” is not a complete, correctly linked sentence, while “In 2001, Los Angeles hads little raise” has an incorrect verb form and an incomplete noun phrase. The sentence beginning “In 1900's” combines several cities and figures without clear grammatical relationships, making it difficult to see which information belongs to Paris, Tokyo, Washington DC or Kyoto. Subject–verb forms and sentence boundaries also need attention. Practise writing one complete comparison per sentence, using accurate past-tense forms for opening dates and clear structures such as “Tokyo carried … passengers annually, compared with … in Paris.”

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