Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-10

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 6.0)

The provided table demonstrates the subway system in six cities including the london, paris, tokyo, washington DC, kyoto and Los angeles.

Overall, london had the oldest underground railway station with the longest route, while the los angeles was newly opened subway with the shortest route.

To embark with, in term of passenger, the paris and tokyo witnessed the highest passenger among the city. In london, the underground railway station was opened in 1863 with the route of 394 kilometers and occupied 775 millions passengers annually. Moreover, Paris was the second oldest railway station which was established in 1900 with the route of 199 kilometers and gained 1191 passenger.

Furthermore, after the year 1900, the cities like tokyo, washington dc and kyoto were decreased in terms of kilometers of route and yearly passenger. The underground station of tokyo constructed in the year 1927 with 155 kilometers of route which decreased slighlty to 126 kilometers in washington and reached at just 11 kilometers in kyoto. A similar trend can be seen for passenger capacity, tokyo had the highest contributor which accounted for 1927 millions per year followed by washington and kyoto with 144 millions and 45 millions, respectively. Also, Los angeles was the modern railway station which was installed in 2001 with 28 kilometers of path and just 50 millions passenger annually.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You cover the main features and include relevant figures for all six cities. The overview identifies London as having the oldest system and longest route, and Los Angeles as the newest, while the body compares passenger numbers and route lengths. However, the overview misses the most striking passenger pattern: Tokyo has the highest annual usage, whereas Kyoto has the lowest. Some comparisons are also unclear or inaccurate in emphasis. For example, saying the systems “were decreased” after 1900 suggests a continuous decline, although Los Angeles has a longer route and more passengers than Kyoto. Make the overview more complete and compare the extremes and notable contrasts directly to strengthen the summary.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, an overview, and two body paragraphs. Sequencing the older systems before the later ones helps the reader follow the information, and connectors such as “Moreover,” “Furthermore,” and “Also” signal additions. However, some links are mechanical or do not accurately express the relationship between the data. “Furthermore, after the year 1900” introduces a supposed downward trend that is not consistent across all cities, and “A similar trend” is not quite appropriate because passenger figures do not decline steadily either. Grouping cities by a clear comparison—such as oldest/largest route and highest/lowest passenger use—would create more purposeful progression and clearer cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a reasonable range of task-related vocabulary, including “route,” “annually,” “established,” and “passenger capacity,” so the data is generally understandable. However, several choices are inaccurate or unnatural for describing transport statistics. “Underground railway station” refers to a station rather than an entire system, while “occupied 775 millions passengers” and “highest contributor” do not express passenger totals naturally. There are also spelling and capitalization slips, including “slighlty,” “london,” and “Los angeles.” Aim for precise, conventional collocations such as “underground system,” “carried 775 million passengers,” and “recorded the highest annual ridership.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including clauses introduced by “while” and “which,” and the main comparisons can usually be understood. Some grammatical errors remain, particularly with articles, agreement, and sentence construction. For example, “the los angeles was newly opened subway” has an unnecessary article and an incomplete noun phrase; “the paris and tokyo witnessed” uses an incorrect article and verb choice; and “with 155 kilometers of route which decreased” leaves the relative clause without a clear grammatical link. Plural forms and number expressions also need attention in “775 millions passengers” and “50 millions passenger.” Check each sentence for a clear subject and verb, and use “million” before a noun.

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