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 chart is highligthing us about the underground railway systems of different cities including London, Paris, Tokyo, Washington DC, Kyoto, Los Angeles. Let's talk about London first, In London the underground railway system operated in 1863 and it covers 394 kilometers area throught out the city. Additionally, It is used for transport by 775 millions people in London in 1year but the underground railway use is more in Paris around 1191 million people travels per year and it's expanded around 199 kilometers throught out the city. It started to function in 1900.

The people in Tokyo uses the underground railway systems the most, It started to function in 1927 and covers 155 kilometers in Tokyo. The 1927 million people use it every year. In Washington DC, The underground raillway covers 126 Kilometers, Around 144 million people travel per year and It opened in 1976. Furthermore, In Kyoto the underground railway starts functioning in 1981, It covers 11 kilometers of area and around 45 million passenger travels per year. Additionally, in Los Angeles the underground railway started working in 2001. It covers 28 kilometers of route and only 50 million passengers travel through out the year.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You include information about all six cities and report the opening dates, route lengths and annual passenger figures, so the response is relevant to the table. However, it mainly lists each city’s details rather than selecting and comparing the most important features. There is no clear overview identifying, for example, London as the oldest and largest network, Tokyo as the busiest, or Kyoto as the smallest. The statement that Tokyo has the most passengers is accurate, but the comparison with Paris and the other systems is not developed. Some figures are also described imprecisely, such as saying the route “covers … kilometers area.” To improve, begin with a concise overview and organise key contrasts around age, route length and usage.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a generally understandable sequence: it starts with London and Paris, then moves through Tokyo, Washington DC, Kyoto and Los Angeles. Paragraphing separates the first two cities from the remaining four, and linking expressions such as “Additionally” and “Furthermore” help signal continuation. However, the organisation is largely a city-by-city list, with little grouping or comparison to create a clear overall progression. Repeated transitions such as “Additionally” also feel mechanical, and some sentence boundaries are faulty: “In London…, In London…” and “The people in Tokyo…, It started…” join or separate ideas awkwardly. Grouping the cities by notable contrasts and using clearer sentence links would make the report easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough topic vocabulary to communicate the main data, including “underground railway systems,” “route,” “passengers” and “per year.” Some variation, such as “started to function” and “started working,” also avoids repeating one expression throughout. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate or unnatural: “The chart is highligthing us about” and “covers 394 kilometers area” do not express the information idiomatically. Spelling errors such as “highligthing” and “raillway,” along with repeated phrases like “throughout the city,” reduce precision. Use standard data-reporting language—for example, “the table compares,” “the network extends for,” and “carries”—and check spelling and units carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You communicate the figures using both simple sentences and some joined structures, for example, “It started to function in 1927 and covers 155 kilometers in Tokyo.” However, the range is limited, and errors occur frequently enough to make some sentences awkward. There are problems with sentence boundaries and capitalisation, as in “In London…, In London…” and “The people in Tokyo uses…, It started…”. Subject–verb agreement is also inconsistent: “The people … uses” and “1927 million people use it” do not fit the intended subjects and tense. Articles, plurals and punctuation need more control as well. Practise accurate comparisons and compound sentences, and check that each sentence has a clear subject and correctly matched verb.

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