Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-15

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 4.5)

This is a underground railway system that describes underground railway system in six cities.

The first underground railway system was built in 1863 in London. It's length is 394 km and it carries about 775million passengers per year.

The second underground railway system was built in 1900 in Paris. It's length is 199km and it carries about 1191million passengers per year.

The third underground railway system was built in 1927 in Tokyo. It's length is 155km and it carries about 1927million passengers per year.

The fourth underground railway system was built in 1976 in Washington DC. It's length is 126 km and it carries about 144million passengers per year .

The fifth underground railway system was built in 1981 in Kyoto. It's length is 11 km and it carries about 45million passengers per year.

The sixth underground railway system was built in 2001 in Los Angeles. It's length is 28km and it carries about 50million passengers per year.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You include all six cities and report each system’s opening year, route length and annual passenger figure, so the key data are present and generally relevant. However, the response mainly lists the figures one city at a time rather than selecting and comparing the main features. It does not identify, for example, London as the oldest and longest network, Tokyo as the busiest, or Kyoto as the smallest and least-used system. The opening sentence also inaccurately suggests the table describes a single system. To strengthen the summary, give a clear overview of the most notable contrasts, then group and compare the figures instead of repeating the same reporting pattern for every city.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

The information follows a clear chronological sequence, from London in 1863 to Los Angeles in 2001, and the repeated “first,” “second,” and “third” labels help readers follow the city-by-city list. However, this structure is mechanical and offers little progression beyond the sequence of entries. There is no separate overview or grouping of related comparisons, and the repeated sentence pattern makes the response feel like a set of isolated facts. Organise the report into an introduction, an overview of the main contrasts, and one or two paragraphs comparing the data. Use linking expressions such as “by contrast” or “whereas” to show relationships between cities.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

Your vocabulary is sufficient to communicate the basic information, with relevant terms such as “underground railway system,” “length,” and “passengers per year.” The repeated use of “built” and “It’s length” makes the wording limited and repetitive, and “This is a underground railway system” is an awkward description of what the table presents. More precise reporting language would help you compare the data, for example “opened,” “route extends,” “carries,” “records,” “longest,” and “highest annual ridership.” Take care with standard written forms and spacing around figures, such as “775 million” and “394 km.” A broader range of accurate comparison vocabulary would make the summary more natural and informative.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

Most of the response uses short, simple sentences with the same structure: “The [ordinal] underground railway system was built…” followed by “It’s length…” This pattern is understandable, but it shows little grammatical variety and does not demonstrate control of more complex comparisons. There are also recurring errors: “a underground” needs the article “an,” and “It’s length” uses a contraction where the possessive “Its length” is required. The repeated sentence construction also limits opportunities to show accurate clause linking. Practise combining related facts with structures such as “Although London’s network is the longest, Tokyo carries the most passengers,” while checking articles, possessives and punctuation.

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