Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)

The table illustrates different informations about the underground railway systems in London, Paris, Tokyo, Washington DC, Kyoto and Los Angeles.

Overall, the underground railway system that has the earliest date of opening was London. Whereas Los Angeles opened recently among the six cities. Similarly as the oldest railway sytem, London is the city that experienced the most kilometers of route travelled. On the other hand, Kyoto saw the least kilometers of route travelled. Tokyo had the most number of passengers travelling per year and Kyoto being the city with the least number of passengers per year.

In detail, London underground railway system opened on 1863 having 394 kilometers of route travelled and gaining 775 million passengers per year. As for Paris, it opened 37 years after the London railway on 1900, Paris had 199 kilometers of route travelled and had the second most passengers travelling with 1191 million per year. Tokyo opened it services for underground railway on 1927 with 155 kilometers of route and having the most number of passengers per year reaching a figure of 1927 million. Washington DC, that opened on 1976 had 126 kilometers of route with 144 million passengers per year. As compared to these six cities Kyoto that opened in 1981 had the least kilometers of route travelled with just 11 and passengers being just 45 million per year. In the end Los Angeles opened in 2001 and being the most recently opened among the six cities had just 28 kilometers of route and 50 million passengers per year just 5 million more than kyoto.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You cover all three measures and provide a clear overview: London is the oldest and has the longest route, while Tokyo has the highest annual passenger figure and Kyoto the lowest route length and passenger total. The detailed paragraph also includes the figures for all six cities, and the comparison that Los Angeles carries five million more passengers than Kyoto is relevant. This is a solid response to the task, though some comparisons are less fully developed: for example, the route lengths and passenger totals of Paris, Tokyo and Washington are mostly listed rather than compared directly. Also ensure descriptions match the table precisely; “kilometers of route travelled” suggests distance travelled, rather than the length of each system’s route.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure, moving from an introduction to an overview and then to supporting details. The overview groups the main extremes effectively, and the final comparison between Los Angeles and Kyoto helps connect the data. However, the detailed paragraph presents the cities largely in sequence, so comparisons between systems are limited. Some linking is mechanical or awkward, particularly “Similarly as the oldest railway system” and “In the end.” The long final paragraph also makes the information harder to scan. Grouping the older, larger systems separately from the newer, shorter ones, and using clearer transitions such as “By contrast” or “Meanwhile,” would create smoother progression and more purposeful cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of task-related vocabulary, including “earliest,” “recently,” “least,” “reaching a figure,” and “compared to.” These choices help communicate the main comparisons, and the meaning is generally clear. Some word choices and collocations are inaccurate or repetitive, however. “Different informations” uses an uncountable noun as a plural, while “kilometers of route travelled” does not naturally describe route length. The repeated phrase “passengers travelling per year” is also less concise than standard data-reporting language. Check spelling and word forms in “sytem” and “kyoto.” More precise terms such as “route length,” “annual passenger numbers,” and “carried” would make the report sound more natural and exact.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a contrast with “On the other hand” and a relative clause in “Washington DC, that opened on 1976.” Most of the data remains understandable, but some grammatical errors recur. For example, “opened on 1863” should use “in” with a year, and “opened 37 years after the London railway on 1900” has an awkwardly placed time expression. The sentence beginning “Whereas Los Angeles…” is a fragment, and “Tokyo opened it services” has an incorrect pronoun form. Some sentences also combine several details without clear grammatical control. Practise accurate year prepositions, complete clauses, and sentence boundaries while retaining a mix of structures.

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