Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

The Table illustraites information about the date when the underground railway systems were opened, their length, and the number of passengers served per year, in six cities.

Overall, it is evident that the railway system in London is the oldest and the longest among all systems, while the newest system is in Los Angeles. In Tokyo, the railway serves the highest number of people, in contrast, the lowest number of passengers per year is in Kyoto.

Turning to the details, the most ancient and the longest railway system is in London at 1863 and 394 kilometers respectively. The shortest subway system is in Kyoto at only 11 kilometer lengthe, followed by Los Angeles subway at 28 Kilometer. The subway system in Tokyo was built in 1927 and trasports 1927 milion passengers per year.

Other worth mentioning information, Kyoto and Los Angeles systems are the shortest railways and transport the lowe

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the table’s subject and give a useful overview, correctly noting that London has the oldest and longest network, Los Angeles the newest, and Tokyo the highest annual passenger total. You also include some relevant figures, such as London’s 394 kilometres and Tokyo’s 1,927 million passengers. However, the report covers the data only partially: it gives little comparison of passenger numbers across the other cities, and the final sentence is cut off at “transport the lowe,” leaving an important point incomplete. Develop the comparisons by reporting, for example, that Paris carries more passengers than London despite having a much shorter route, and include the figures for Washington, Kyoto and Los Angeles.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has a recognisable structure, moving from an introduction and overview to details, and phrases such as “Overall” and “Turning to the details” help signal this progression. However, the organisation does not develop into a complete, clearly sequenced report. The final paragraph begins “Other worth mentioning information” but stops mid-sentence, so the reader cannot follow the intended comparison. Some links between ideas are also awkward: “In Tokyo …, in contrast, the lowest…” joins two overview points without clear punctuation or a smooth relationship. Grouping the cities by useful comparisons—such as older/larger systems and newer/smaller systems—and completing each paragraph would make the progression clearer.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some appropriate task vocabulary, including “railway systems,” “length,” “passengers per year,” and “shortest,” and the meaning of most points can be understood. However, spelling and word-choice errors are noticeable, including “illustraites,” “lengthe,” “trasports,” “milion,” and “lowe.” Some expressions are also unnatural or imprecise: “most ancient” is less suitable than “oldest” for a system, and “passengers served” is less direct than “passengers carried.” “Other worth mentioning information” is not idiomatic. Aim for accurate, conventional data-reporting language and check spelling carefully; this would make your vocabulary more precise and reduce effort for the reader.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mixture of simple and more complex sentences, including the overview sentence beginning “Overall” and the comparison “while the newest system is in Los Angeles.” Most of the main information remains understandable, but there are some errors in sentence construction and punctuation. In “In Tokyo, the railway serves the highest number of people, in contrast, the lowest number…” two independent clauses are joined with commas; use a full stop or a suitable conjunction. “The most ancient and the longest railway system is in London at 1863 and 394 kilometers respectively” also has an awkward grammatical pattern for presenting dates and measurements. The final sentence is incomplete, which further weakens accuracy. Practise complete comparison sentences and consistent structures for reporting dates, lengths and passenger totals.

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