Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

The given information illustrates underground railway systems of six different cities along with their opening dates, distances of route and amount of users of underground railway anually.

Overall, It is evident that there is a clear connection between the number of passengers per year with respect to their distances of route. For instance, London has the ancient underground railway system among these six cities and almost cover long ranges, while kyoto covered less kilometers of route.

As the data delineates, according to the number of passengers carrying per year in millions, The city of Tokyo took the highest number consists of 1927 millions passenger with covering up 155 kilometers since 1927. Although london and Paris covered more range than tokyo and opened much ahead of time from tokyo , respectively 394 km and 199km in 1863 and 1900 , yet their number of passenger was much less than tokyo accordingly 775 millions and 1191 millions. still their underground r

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify relevant comparisons, including London as the oldest system and Tokyo as having the highest annual passenger figure. However, the summary is only partial: it does not report the figures for Washington DC, Kyoto, or Los Angeles, and the overview’s claimed connection between route length and passenger numbers is not supported consistently by the table. For example, Tokyo carries the most passengers despite having a shorter route than London and Paris. The response also ends mid-sentence (“still their underground r…”), leaving the comparison unfinished. To strengthen the report, give a clear overview of the main extremes and include the key figures for all six cities, grouping the smaller, newer systems where useful.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

There is an identifiable opening, overview, and comparison, and phrases such as “For instance” and “Although” show an attempt to connect ideas. However, progression is difficult to follow because the response moves from a broad overview to a long, crowded comparison without a clear structure for the remaining cities. The final fragment (“still their underground r…”) disrupts the flow and leaves the paragraph incomplete. Some linking is also awkward: “Although” introduces a contrast, but the sentence contains several comparisons and figures at once. Organise the information into clear groups—for example, the older, larger systems and the newer, smaller ones—and use separate sentences to make each comparison easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some task-relevant vocabulary, including “underground railway system,” “passengers per year,” “distances,” and “delineates,” and the reader can generally identify the subject of the report. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate, such as “amount of users,” “cover long ranges,” and “number of passengers carrying per year.” These expressions make some comparisons less clear or natural. Spelling and capitalisation are also inconsistent, as in “anually,” “kyoto,” and “london.” Aim for precise data-reporting language such as “annual passenger numbers,” “route length,” and “carried the most passengers,” and check city names and spelling carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt complex sentence forms, particularly the sentence beginning “Although London and Paris…,” but these structures are often difficult to control. Errors include subject–verb agreement in “London has … and almost cover,” article and noun-form problems in “the ancient underground railway system,” and an unclear construction in “the city of Tokyo took the highest number consists of.” The long comparison also lacks clear sentence boundaries, and the final fragment is incomplete. These issues sometimes make the intended relationships between dates, route lengths, and passenger totals hard to follow. Use shorter, complete sentences and check agreement, articles, and clause structure; for example, state that Tokyo’s system “carried 1,927 million passengers annually.”

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