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 of underground railway systems in six cities, date it was opened, the route in kilometers it covered and the number of passengers travelled per year.

Overall, London's railway was started long before with longest distance covered compare to rest all other cities. While, Paris railway had second highest distance. In contrast, Tokyo carried the largest number of passangers per year. Whereas, Kyoto and Los Angeles had least travellers and covered few distance annually.

In 1863, London is oldest railway, travelled longest distance of 394 kilometers, with increased number of passenger of 775 millions. In 1900, Paris is consider as second highest covering route with 199 kilometer, carrying 1191 millions per year. In 1927, Tokyo's railway travel little less distance but have to largest travellers of 1927 millions leaving behind rest of all the cities. While, Washington DC opened in 1976 carrying only 144 millions passenger and the distance travelled are 126 kilometers.

In the meantime, Kyoto railway started in 1981 near to the 20th century, covering least kilometers at 11 with lowest number of passanger of 45. Whereas, Los Angeles startd

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the main contrasts: London has the oldest and longest system, while Tokyo carries the most passengers, and Kyoto has the smallest network and lowest passenger figure. You also include figures for most cities. However, the response does not fully report the table: the final sentence about Los Angeles is unfinished, so its 28-kilometre route and 50 million passengers are not clearly presented. Some comparisons are also imprecise, such as describing London’s passenger number as “increased” without a comparison over time. To strengthen the summary, report all six cities completely and accurately, and make the overview concise and focused on the clearest extremes and contrasts.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, an overview, and paragraphs giving details, and the information generally follows the cities’ opening dates. This gives the reader a basic route through the data. However, progression is weakened by repeated and sometimes awkward linking words, including “While” and “Whereas,” and the final paragraph breaks off after “Los Angeles startd,” leaving the comparison incomplete. Some sentences combine several figures without clear relationships, particularly the Tokyo and Washington DC details. Grouping the cities more deliberately—for example, older, larger systems together and newer, smaller ones together—and using fewer, more precise transitions would make the organisation clearer.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant vocabulary for describing the table, including “route,” “passengers,” “covering,” and “carried,” so the topic is generally understandable. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate: “information of” is less natural than “information about,” “passengers travelled” does not clearly express annual ridership, and “covered few distance” is awkward. Spelling errors such as “passangers,” “passanger,” and “startd” also reduce accuracy. Aim for precise data-reporting language and check spelling carefully. For example, use “annual passenger numbers” and “the shortest route” rather than less natural phrases.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including comparisons introduced by “While” and “Whereas.” However, control is inconsistent, and errors occur frequently enough to make some sentences difficult to follow. Examples include “London is oldest railway,” “Paris is consider,” and “Tokyo’s railway … have to largest travellers,” where articles, verb forms, and sentence construction are faulty. There are also problems with agreement and number in “the distance travelled are 126 kilometers.” The unfinished final sentence further disrupts grammatical completeness. Practise forming accurate past-tense descriptions and complete comparison clauses, then check each sentence for a clear subject and correctly matched verb.

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