Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

Underground railway system is one of the significant infrastructures of a country. It determines the infrastructural development of a country. This table represents some of the finest underground railway networks in the world. The oldest and one of the largest underground railway system is working in London. It was established in 1863 and is 395 kilometers long facilitating almost 775 million passengers per year. Near to London is the Paris underground railway established in 1900 with 199 kilometers long track and facilitating 1191 passengers every year. In 1927, Tokyo's underground railway system was established. Its total length is 155 kilometers and it is the most busiest railway system accomodating approximately 1927 million people per year. In 1976, Washington DC railway system was established. Its total length is 126 kilometres with average of 144 passengers per year. Another Japanese underground railway system is mentioned in the table called as Kyoto railway system. It is one of the shortest underground railways with just 11 kms and carrying only 45 million people per year. The most recent railway system according to yhos data is of Los Angeles established in 2001with only 28 kilometers long. It facilitates 50 million passengers annualy. This data is represented in choronological order and according to it the oldest is London underground railway system while tne most recent is Los Angeles railway system. As per data, the longest is of London while kyoto railway system is the shortest one.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You report all six cities and include the three key measures, with useful comparisons such as London having the longest route and Kyoto the shortest. However, the overview is not sufficiently clear or complete: the opening focuses on the systems’ importance rather than summarising the table’s main patterns, and the final overview repeats route-length and age comparisons without identifying Tokyo’s exceptionally high annual passenger figure or the contrast between route size and usage. Some details are inaccurate: London’s route is 394 km, not 395, and the passenger figures should be described as millions (for example, Paris carries 1,191 million, not simply 1,191 passengers). A more selective overview and precise reporting of units would make the response more fully address the task.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response follows a broadly chronological sequence, moving from London through to Los Angeles, and the repeated use of dates helps readers follow the city-by-city account. However, the information is presented as one long paragraph, so the overview and supporting details are not clearly separated. The opening general statements do not lead naturally into the data, while the closing sentences repeat points already made about London and Kyoto. Linking phrases such as “Near to London” and “Another Japanese underground railway system” are used, but the progression is mostly a list rather than a structured comparison. Grouping the data into an overview and two detail paragraphs, organised around older/larger and newer/smaller systems or passenger use, would improve progression and cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a reasonable range of topic vocabulary, including “established,” “total length,” “carrying,” and “chronological order,” and the meaning is generally understandable. Some choices are imprecise or unnatural for describing a table: “finest” is an unsupported judgement, “facilitating passengers” is an awkward collocation, and “most busiest” is an incorrect form. There are also spelling errors, including “accomodating,” “annualy,” “choronological,” and “yhos,” which reduce accuracy. Use neutral, precise reporting language and check spelling carefully. For example, describe a system as “serving” or “carrying” a stated number of passengers, and use “the busiest” rather than “the most busiest.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of sentence forms, including relative clauses such as “which is mentioned in the table” and longer sentences combining dates, route lengths, and passenger figures. The main information is usually recoverable, but errors in agreement, articles, and sentence construction remain noticeable. For example, “Underground railway system is” needs an article or plural subject, and “the oldest and one of the largest underground railway system” has a number-agreement problem. The phrase “with 199 kilometers long track” also has an incomplete grammatical pattern; “with a 199-kilometre route” would be clearer. Review articles, singular/plural agreement, and sentence boundaries, while keeping some varied structures.

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