Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-16

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 shows the information of train which used to go underground in six cities. Overall, there are six cities in which Tokyo has largest number of passengers while, Kyoto has shortest number of passengers per year ( in million). In 1863, London had 394 kilometers of route and 775 passengers per year (in million). in 1900, Paris had 199 kilometers of route and 1191 passengers per year (in million). In 1927, Tokyo had 155 kilometers of route and 1927 passengers per year (in million). In 1976, Washington DC had 126 kilometers of route and 144 passengers per year (in million). In 1981, Kyoto had 11 kilometers of route and 45 passengers per year (in million). In 2001, Los Angeles 28 kilometers of route and 50 passengers per year (in million). It means that in Paris and Tokyo people used the railway systen in large number. On the other hand, Kyoto and Los Angeles used a very small number of railway system.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You report the figures for all six cities and identify Tokyo as having the highest annual passenger total, while Kyoto has the lowest. However, the overview is incomplete: it does not highlight that London has the longest route and that Tokyo’s passenger use is highest despite its route being shorter than London’s and Paris’s. Most of the response lists each city’s figures rather than selecting and comparing the main features, and the final claim that Paris and Tokyo are used in large numbers is not developed with a clear comparison. To strengthen the response, group the cities by notable contrasts and make the overview capture the key rankings across both route length and passenger numbers. The task is addressed, but its main features are only partly summarised.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has a basic sequence: an opening statement, an overview, a series of city-by-city figures, and a concluding comparison. This gives the reader some organisation, and phrases such as “Overall” and “On the other hand” signal relationships between ideas. However, the progression is largely a repetitive list, with each city introduced in the same way and little grouping of related information. The concluding sentence also repeats the passenger comparison without clearly explaining it. Organise the details into meaningful groups—for example, older and longer systems versus newer and shorter ones—and use comparisons to connect the figures. This would create a clearer overall progression and make the linking language less mechanical.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant terms such as “kilometers of route,” “passengers per year,” and “largest number,” so the reader can generally understand the data being described. However, the vocabulary is limited and several choices are inaccurate or unnatural, including “information of train,” “shortest number of passengers,” and “used a very small number of railway system.” “Train” also does not precisely describe the underground railway systems in the table. Use standard data-reporting language and vary expressions for comparisons, such as “recorded,” “carried,” “the highest annual ridership,” and “the shortest network.” Check spelling as well: “systen” should be “system.” More precise collocations would make the comparisons clearer and more appropriate for an academic summary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

Most of the response uses short, simple sentence patterns, particularly the repeated structure “In [year], [city] had…”. There is an attempt at a more complex sentence in “Overall, there are six cities in which Tokyo has largest number of passengers while…”, but the construction is faulty and the comparison is difficult to follow. Other errors include missing articles in “has largest number” and “a very small number of railway system,” the incomplete clause “In 2001, Los Angeles 28 kilometers…,” and inconsistent sentence capitalisation after “per year.” These errors occur often enough to affect clarity, although the figures remain mostly understandable. Practise accurate comparative sentences and vary sentence structures while checking articles, verb forms, and punctuation.

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