Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-14

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 5.0)

The table provides data about the underground railway systems in six cities.

Overall,London has the oldest underground rail network. While Los Angeles has the modest one.Tokyo is at no.1 in terms of passengers carrying ratios.Whle Kyoto is at last number in this race.

The first underground rail track was buit in London in year 1863 with a route of 394 kilometes.With the passage of time different countries constructed their own train tracks below the ground like Paris in 1900, followed by Tokyo in 1927,then Washington DC in 1976,Kyoto in1981 and Los Angeles' track was inagurated in 2001 with the first route of 28 kilometes.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0

You identify the table’s subject and report some key facts, including London as the oldest system, Tokyo as the busiest, and Kyoto as the smallest by route length. However, the overview is incomplete and the body mainly lists opening dates and selected route lengths. It omits the passenger figures for most cities and gives little comparison of route lengths or annual use; for example, Tokyo’s 1,927 million passengers and London’s 394-kilometre network are not contrasted with other systems. The response contains 96 words, so it is 54 words below the required minimum; eight words copied from the prompt were excluded. To address the task more fully, include the main figures and compare the largest and smallest systems across the categories.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has a basic structure: an introduction, an overview, and a paragraph describing the opening dates. The sequence of cities by opening date gives the final paragraph some logical order, and phrases such as “followed by” help connect the information. However, progression is limited because the body is largely a single chronological list and does not group or compare the data by feature. The overview’s short statements are also joined awkwardly, and punctuation spacing makes the flow harder to follow. Organise the body into clearer comparisons—for example, older and newer systems, then passenger use—and use linking expressions to show how the figures relate rather than simply listing them.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant vocabulary, including “underground rail network,” “route,” and “passengers,” and “oldest” communicates a useful comparison. However, the range is limited, and several choices are inaccurate or unnatural for describing a table. “Passengers carrying ratios” is unclear, while “at last number in this race” is an informal and imprecise way to describe Kyoto’s figures. There are also noticeable spelling errors, such as “buit,” “kilometes,” and “inagurated,” which reduce the accuracy of the report. Use precise terms such as “annual passenger numbers,” “shortest route,” and “recorded,” and check spelling carefully. This will make comparisons clearer and more appropriate to an academic summary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt a complex sentence with “While Los Angeles has the modest one,” and the final paragraph uses a sequence of time references to describe when systems opened. However, the range of sentence structures is limited, and several sentences are incomplete or awkwardly formed. “While Los Angeles has the modest one” is a dependent clause without a main clause, and “Tokyo is at no.1 in terms of passengers carrying ratios” has an unclear grammatical construction. Articles and prepositions are also missing in phrases such as “in year 1863.” Punctuation is inconsistent, including missing spaces after commas and the full stop in “Overall,London.” Practise complete comparison sentences and check articles, clause structure, and punctuation.

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