Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-12

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 chart illustrates the information about underground railway system in 6 cities.

Overall, it is clear that, London,Paris and Tokyo opened early and coverd much distance, and pssangers, as compared to other three cities.

In details, the London underground railway system began in1863 and coverd 394 kilometres of root, which was highest than other nations, in addition 775 people were travel by this railway system. By contrast, Kyoto and Los Angeles opened in 1981 and 2000 and covered 11and 28 kilometre per route. Only 45 and 50 pssangers commute by this railway system.

In remaining details, in1927 and 1976 Tokyo and Washin gton DC underground railway system opened. Highest number of people traveled by Tokyo railway system and it accounted for 1927 pssanger per year. In addition, the distance this railway covered was 155 kilometre per route. Moreover, 144 pssanger were travel by this railway and it covers126 kilometre per route. Paris was the second country which covers199 kilometre per routes and 1191 pssanger were travel by this per year.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the main contrasts: London is the oldest system and has the longest route, while Tokyo carries the most passengers; Kyoto and Los Angeles are among the smallest systems. You also include figures for all six cities. However, some comparisons are unclear or inaccurate: the overview groups London, Paris and Tokyo as covering much distance, although Paris’s route is shorter than London’s, and the statement that only 45 and 50 passengers commute does not make clear that these are millions per year. The opening dates for Los Angeles and the passenger figures for Paris and Washington are also not presented accurately or clearly. A more precise overview and careful reporting of the units would make the summary more complete and reliable.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has an introduction, an overview and two detail paragraphs, and it attempts to group the older, larger systems separately from the newer, smaller ones. This gives the information some organisation. However, progression is not consistently clear: the final paragraph moves from Tokyo to Washington and then back to Paris, while phrases such as “In details” and “In remaining details” do little to show the relationships between the figures. Some references are also difficult to follow, as in “this railway” and “this per year.” Grouping the cities more consistently—for example, by comparing route length and passenger numbers—would create a clearer sequence and make the linking language more effective.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant topic vocabulary, including “underground railway system,” “kilometres,” “opened” and “per year,” so the reader can generally identify the subject and figures. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate, sometimes making the meaning unclear. For example, “people were travel by this railway system” is not a natural way to describe annual passenger numbers, and “highest than other nations” does not express the comparison appropriately. Repeated use of “covered” and “railway system” also makes the description less precise. Choose standard data-reporting expressions and vary them carefully; accurate terms such as “carried,” “route length” and “annual passengers” would improve clarity.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and longer sentences, including a relative clause in “which was highest than other nations” and a comparison introduced by “By contrast.” However, the longer structures are often faulty, and errors occur frequently enough to make some sentences difficult to interpret. Examples include “people were travel,” “Paris was the second country which covers,” and “it covers126 kilometre,” where verb forms, tense consistency and sentence construction need attention. Articles and number agreement are also inconsistent, as in “the underground railway system” and “11and 28 kilometre.” Practise forming clear past-tense sentences to report the table, and check verb forms, singular/plural nouns and punctuation before submitting.

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