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 ilustrates the underground railway systems in six cities, where the year of invention, routes traveling in km and the number of passengers carried per year is counted.

Overall, in London city railway line was invented in early year with longest distance followed by Paris had second highest distance. While, in Tokyo city the passengers travelling with highest number compare to rest of the cities. In contrast, Koyoto and Los Angeles hold least in kilometers and passanger carrying annually.

In 1863, London railway travelled for 394 kilometers with large number of passenger of 775 millions. Undergoing, the consturction

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You identify the table’s subject and include a relevant overview: London has the longest route, while Tokyo carries the most passengers. However, the response reports only a small portion of the data and ends mid-sentence after “Undergoing, the consturction,” so most cities and comparisons are not covered. The overview also inaccurately suggests Kyoto and Los Angeles are lowest in both route length and passenger numbers; Kyoto has the fewest passengers, but Los Angeles carries slightly more than Kyoto. The response is 99 words, below the required 150, which further limits the summary. To strengthen the report, complete it and compare the opening dates, route lengths and annual passenger figures across all six cities, using accurate key values.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

There is a basic attempt at organisation: an introduction is followed by an overview and then a detail paragraph. The overview uses contrast markers such as “While” and “In contrast,” showing an effort to connect comparisons. However, the progression is incomplete because the final paragraph stops after “Undergoing, the consturction,” and the reader cannot follow the remaining information. Some links are also awkward or incomplete, particularly “While, in Tokyo city…” and “In contrast, Koyoto and Los Angeles…”. Develop a clear sequence—for example, compare the older, larger systems first and the newer, smaller ones afterwards—and use complete sentences with linking words that accurately express the relationship between the data.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The response uses some task-related vocabulary, including “underground railway systems,” “kilometers,” “passengers,” and “longest distance,” so the topic is generally recognisable. However, the range is limited and several choices are inaccurate or unnatural, such as “year of invention” for the opening date and “routes traveling in km.” Spelling errors in “ilustrates,” “Koyoto,” “passanger,” and “consturction” are noticeable, while “passenger carrying annually” is an awkward phrase. These issues make parts of the report difficult to interpret, especially the unfinished final paragraph. Use precise table language such as “year opened,” “route length,” and “annual passenger numbers,” and check spelling and collocations before submitting.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both a longer introductory sentence and an overview with contrast, but control is uneven and the range remains limited. For example, “where the year of invention, routes traveling in km and the number of passengers carried per year is counted” has an unclear clause structure and mismatched agreement: the listed items do not form a clear subject for “is counted.” The sentence beginning “Overall” also has faulty construction: “in London city railway line was invented in early year with longest distance followed by Paris had second highest distance.” The fragment “While, in Tokyo city…” is not a complete sentence, and the final paragraph is unfinished. Practise forming complete comparison sentences with clear subjects and verbs, and check articles, agreement and punctuation.

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

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