Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

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

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 table provides information about the underground railway systems in London, Paris, Tokyo, Washington DC, Kyoto and Los Angeles.

Overall, it is clear that Tokyo’s underground railway passengers recorded the highest figure, while Kyoto and Los Angeles had the lowest passengers. Furthermore, London represented the oldest and longest railway.

Looking at the details, London was the oldest railway system in 1863 and had the longest route of 394. However, the passengers per year was only 775 million, being the third highest number in table. In contrast, Paris and Tokyo had the highest number of passengers, at 1191 million and 1927 million, respectively.

Regarding the remaining cities, Washington had 126 kilometers routes and 144 million passengers, compared with other cities Kyoto and Los Angeles recorded the lowest passengers less than 50 million and shortest routes at 11 kilometers and 28 kilometers, respectively.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the table’s subject and give a clear overview, correctly noting Tokyo’s highest passenger total and London’s status as the oldest system with the longest route. Several key comparisons are also reported, including the passenger figures for Paris and Tokyo and the shorter routes in Kyoto and Los Angeles. However, some details are incomplete or imprecise: the overview groups Kyoto and Los Angeles as having the lowest passenger figures without distinguishing their values, and the final sentence does not clearly report Los Angeles’s 50 million passengers. The route figures are given without the unit in the London comparison, and the statement that Paris and Tokyo had the “highest number” could be more precise. The response is also below the required 150 words. Develop the comparisons more fully and include all figures accurately.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction, an overview, and two paragraphs presenting details. This makes the main comparisons easy to locate, and transitions such as “Overall,” “Looking at the details,” and “Regarding the remaining cities” help signal the stages of the summary. The progression is generally logical, moving from the oldest and largest system to the other cities. To make the organisation more effective, group the figures by a clearer comparison, such as older, larger systems versus newer, smaller ones, and ensure each sentence expresses a complete comparison. In the final sentence, the connection between Washington, Kyoto, and Los Angeles is compressed, so the reader has to work out which figures belong to which city. More precise linking and sentence boundaries would strengthen cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of task-related vocabulary, including “underground railway systems,” “passengers per year,” “oldest,” “longest,” and “in contrast.” These choices communicate the main information, and the response avoids excessive repetition of the table headings. Some word combinations and phrasing are less natural or precise, however. “Passengers recorded the highest figure” is awkward because the figure belongs to the system’s annual passenger total, while “the lowest passengers” is not a natural way to describe passenger numbers. “Had 126 kilometers routes” also shows imprecise word choice and form. Use standard data-reporting phrases such as “carried,” “recorded,” or “stood at,” and refer consistently to “annual passenger numbers” and “route length.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and more complex sentence forms, including contrast clauses introduced by “while” and “However,” and the meaning is generally clear. Some grammatical errors remain. In “the passengers per year was only 775 million,” the plural subject requires “were,” or the sentence could be recast as “the annual passenger figure was.” The phrase “the third highest number in table” needs an article (“in the table”). In the final sentence, “compared with other cities Kyoto and Los Angeles recorded” lacks clear punctuation and sentence structure; separate the comparison or add a suitable connector. These issues do not prevent understanding, but checking subject–verb agreement, articles, and clause boundaries would improve accuracy while preserving your range of structures.

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