Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-09

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 given table depicts the information about the underground railway system in six cities situated across the globe. The information includes when the railway system opened, distance traveled, passengers per year.

Overall, it is clearly seem that London is the oldest whereas Los Angles is the newest underground railway system. But one with the most numbers of passengers is Paris and Kyoto has the least.

Turning to the details, London was the first to open underground railway system in 1863 in comparison Los Angeles opened it in 2001 which was way behind. Although it was last in opening but it was not last in kilometers of route. In that regard Kyoto was last with 11 and London was first with 394.

Furthermore, most popular railway system was not London but Tokyo with a astonishing 1927 million passengers per year which is same as it's opening year. In comparison Kyoto has lowest number of passengers per year that is 45 million. It is a paradox as both of these cities are situated in Japan.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify several key comparisons, including London as the oldest system, Los Angeles as the newest, and Kyoto as having the shortest route. However, the overview contains a factual inconsistency: it says Paris has the most passengers, while the later detail correctly identifies Tokyo as the busiest. The response also omits important figures for Paris and Washington, and does not compare route lengths or passenger totals across the six systems in a sufficiently complete way. The claim that Tokyo’s passenger figure is “the same as its opening year” confuses the passenger total with the year 1927. To strengthen the report, give a consistent overview of the main extremes and select accurate figures that represent all three categories in the table.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction, an overview, and two paragraphs of details. Sequencing phrases such as “Overall,” “Turning to the details,” and “Furthermore” help the reader follow the report. The main weakness is that some connections are unclear or do not support a logical comparison. For example, “Although it was last in opening but it was not last in kilometers of route” combines contrasting linkers, and the reference to “it” is not immediately clear. The final observation about the cities being in Japan also interrupts the comparison of passenger figures. Grouping the data more systematically—for example, oldest/largest systems and newer/smaller systems—would make progression clearer and cohesion less mechanical.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for describing the table, including “oldest,” “newest,” “in comparison,” “most popular,” and “kilometers of route.” These choices make the general meaning understandable, and you attempt some less common phrasing such as “a paradox.” However, several expressions are imprecise or unnatural for a data report: “distance traveled” does not accurately describe route length, and “most numbers of passengers” is awkward. “Most popular” also suggests preference rather than passenger volume. There are spelling and word-form slips, including “Los Angles” and “a astonishing,” which reduce accuracy. Prefer precise terms such as “route length” and “annual passenger numbers,” and check spelling and collocations when editing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and complex sentences, including a contrast clause beginning “Although” and a comparison introduced by “whereas.” Meaning is generally recoverable, but some grammatical errors remain. For example, “it is clearly seem” has an incorrect verb form, and “London was the first to open underground railway system” needs an article before “underground railway system.” The sentence “Although it was last in opening but it was not last…” uses two contrasting conjunctions where one is needed. There are also punctuation and sentence-boundary issues, such as the comma splice in “In comparison Kyoto has lowest number … that is 45 million.” Use consistent past-tense forms for opening dates, and review articles, agreement, and clause punctuation.

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

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