Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-13

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 illustration gives information about the undergroound railway system in six countries. Overall, Tokyo underground railway system was the only one which carry most passengers per year. By contrast, Kyoto only one which carry lowest passangers per year.

It is quite evident from the given table in London was the first city in which first railway was opened in 1863, had the largest 394 kilometers of route and in this there was 775 millions passengers per year. Talk about Paris, Tokyo in which railway system was opened in 1900 and 1927 respectively, but in case of route paris had 199 kilometers and Tokyo had 155 kilometers, but these far different with the passangers per year.

Furthermore, in 1976 railway system was opened in Washington DC which carry 144 millions passangers per year with the route of 126 kilometers.At last, Kyoto and Los Angeles were the countries in which railway system had mininmum route of 11 and 28 kilometers respectively, but the carry the almost same passangers per year like 45 and 50 millions respectively.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify several important features, including London as the earliest system and the longest route, and Tokyo as having the highest annual passenger figure. You also compare Paris and Tokyo’s route lengths and give figures for the newer systems. However, the overview is incomplete: it does not clearly summarise the contrast between the oldest, largest systems and the newer, smaller ones, and it incorrectly says Kyoto alone had the lowest passenger total, although it was indeed the lowest. Some details are unclear or inaccurate, such as “in this there was 775 millions passengers,” and the comparison of Paris and Tokyo’s passenger numbers is not stated explicitly. Select the key extremes and report each comparison precisely to make the summary more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic structure: an opening overview is followed by details about the cities, with paragraph transitions such as “Furthermore” and “At last.” This gives the reader some sense of organisation. However, progression is not consistently clear. The second paragraph moves from London to Paris and Tokyo in a long, loosely connected sentence, while the final paragraph groups Washington, Kyoto and Los Angeles without clearly explaining the comparisons. Linking words such as “but” are repeated and sometimes do not show the intended relationship. Organise the data into clearer groups—for example, older systems and newer systems—and use direct comparison phrases to guide the reader through the figures.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant task vocabulary, including “route,” “passengers per year,” and “opened,” so the main subject is generally understandable. However, the range is limited and several word choices or forms are inaccurate, which sometimes makes the meaning difficult to follow. Examples include “countries” for cities, “carry” for passenger totals, and “the carry the almost same passengers.” There are also noticeable spelling errors, such as “undergroound,” “passangers,” and “mininmum.” Use precise terms such as “city,” “served,” and “recorded,” and check spelling carefully. A wider set of comparison language would also help you describe the data more accurately.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more extended sentence forms, but complex sentences are often difficult to control, and errors occur frequently enough to affect clarity. For example, “London was the first city in which first railway was opened in 1863, had the largest…” combines clauses without a clear grammatical structure. Subject–verb agreement is also inconsistent in “Tokyo underground railway system was the only one which carry,” and articles are missing in phrases such as “in London was the first city.” Punctuation is weak in the long sentence about Paris and Tokyo, and there is no space after the full stop before “At last.” Build shorter, complete sentences first, then connect them with accurate clauses and check agreement, articles and punctuation.

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