Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

The table presents the information about the railway systems operating underground in six major cities.

Overall, the number of passengers travelled through the underground railways increased with decline in distance covered till the year of 1927. In 1976 and 1981, the commuters figure decreased with decrease in area covered by the railways, except Los Angeles in 2001.

To begin with, in 1927 London recorded the figure of 775 million passengers who travelled through the underground railway systems that covered the distance of 394 kilometers of total route. In Paris and Tokyo, the underground railway stations opened in 1900 and 1927, respectively, experienced the surge in number of travelling passengers despite the decline in the total distance covered, with Tokyo taking lead.

In Washington DC and Kyoto, when the distance covered by the underground railways became more shorter, the total number of passengers decreased accordingly. Kyoto showed the least number of commuting passengers and the distance covered by the underground railways. In contrast, Los Angeles showed an increase in number of passengers while the underground railways only covered the total distance of 28 kilometers

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify the table’s subject and provide an overview, noting that London has the longest route and that Kyoto has the smallest figures. However, the overview is partly inaccurate: passenger numbers do not generally rise as route length falls, and the claim about a trend “till the year of 1927” is not a clear summary of the data. Several key comparisons are missing or imprecise. For example, Tokyo has the highest annual passenger total, while London has the longest route; Paris also carries more passengers than London despite having a shorter network. The opening years are mentioned, but the figures are not consistently reported. Select the main extremes and contrasts accurately, and support them with the relevant data.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and two paragraphs grouping the cities. Phrases such as “To begin with” and “In contrast” help signal movement between points, and the information is generally possible to follow. However, the progression is weakened by unclear links between opening dates, route lengths and passenger totals. The first overview sentence, for instance, combines these measures in a way that makes the claimed trend difficult to interpret. The final paragraph also ends abruptly, without a concluding comparison. Organise the details by meaningful contrasts—such as oldest versus newest systems or highest versus lowest figures—and use references that make clear which measure each comparison concerns.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use a reasonable range of topic-related vocabulary, including “commuters,” “surge,” “decline,” and “in contrast,” and the meaning is usually understandable. There are, however, several imprecise or unnatural collocations, such as “the number of passengers travelled through,” “taking lead,” and “the distance covered by the underground railways.” “Area covered” is also not an accurate description of route length. These choices sometimes make the comparisons less clear, even though they do not prevent the reader from understanding the general topic. Prefer precise data language such as “carried,” “route length,” and “annual passenger numbers,” and avoid describing changes as a “surge” unless the figures clearly support that emphasis.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mixture of simple and complex sentences, including clauses beginning “when” and “despite,” and most of the message remains understandable. Some grammatical errors and awkward constructions are present. For example, “the number of passengers travelled” lacks a suitable relative or participial structure, while “became more shorter” uses an incorrect comparative form. In “in 1927 London recorded,” the date is also attached unclearly to the passenger figure rather than the system’s opening. The long sentence beginning “In Paris and Tokyo” has a difficult subject–verb relationship, which obscures the comparison. Build complex sentences around a clear subject and verb, and check comparative forms, articles and punctuation when revising.

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