Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-08

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 graph illustrates data abou six cities underground railway systems.

Overall, the graph describe world six cities such as, London, Paris, Tokyo, Washington Dc, Kyoto and Los Angeles railway system and in which mostly trains used by Tokyo individuals and lowest by Kyoto.

London railway was opened in 1863 and its travel is 394 kilometers per route and it carry 775 million people per year. Paris railway started in 1900 and its jounery is 199 kilometers and it travel with 1191 millon population per year.

Tokyo trains were estabilshed in 1927 and its route is 155 kilometers and a large amount of people travel with it and this rate is 1927 million. Washington DC railway developed in 1976 and it carries only 144 million people per year.

Kyoto railway system begain in 1981 and its travels only 11 kilomerters and 45 million individuals travel with him. Los Angeles trains were opened in 2001 and travel on 28 kilometers per as route and its yearly travelers list is about 50 million.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You report information for all six cities and include the opening dates, route lengths and annual passenger figures, so the response is relevant to the task. You also identify Tokyo as having the highest passenger use and Kyoto as the lowest. However, the overview is limited and does not capture other key comparisons, such as London having the longest route despite Tokyo carrying the most passengers, or the newer systems being much smaller. Some figures are described imprecisely: “a large amount of people” does not clearly report Tokyo’s passenger total, and the route information is sometimes awkwardly expressed. A clearer overview and more selective comparisons between the largest and smallest systems would make the main features more fully addressed.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has a basic structure: an introduction, an overview, and paragraphs that report the figures for the cities. This makes the information generally possible to follow, and the city-by-city order is consistent. However, there is little grouping or comparison, so the report reads mainly as a list rather than a progression of key features. Linking is also repetitive, with several sentences beginning with a city name followed by “railway” or “trains,” and connections between route length and passenger numbers are not always clear. For example, the Tokyo sentence combines the route figure and passenger total without a precise comparison. Grouping cities by older/newer systems or by high/low figures would improve the organisation.

Lexical Resource: Band 4.5

You use some task-related vocabulary, including “route,” “opened,” “per year” and “passengers,” which helps communicate the table’s subject. However, the range is limited and several choices or spelling errors make the report less precise: “graph” is not the right term for a table, “jounery” and “estabilshed” are misspelled, and “travel with him” is an unsuitable expression for a railway system. Phrases such as “yearly travelers list” and “its travel is 394 kilometers per route” are also unnatural and obscure the intended meaning. Aim for accurate, conventional collocations such as “carried passengers,” “route length” and “annual ridership,” and check spelling carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

Most sentences use a simple subject–verb pattern, and the reader can usually understand the basic information. However, the range of structures is limited, and frequent errors affect accuracy. The opening sentence, “The graph illustrates data abou six cities underground railway systems,” has problems with the article, possessive form and sentence construction. Agreement is also inconsistent in “the graph describe,” while “London railway was opened” and “it carry 775 million people” show errors in articles and verb forms. Some longer sentences join information awkwardly, particularly the overview and Tokyo description. Practise accurate present-tense reporting structures and possessives, for example, “London’s system opened in 1863 and has a route length of 394 kilometres.”

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