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 below illustrates information regarding underground railway system in six cites of sevral countries.These cities are Londaon , Paris , Tokyo , Washington DC, Kyoto and Los Angeles. This tables below shows information regarding opening dates , lenght and passengers that travel in a year who using underground railway system .

London comes at the top of the list with the longest route of 394 KM , 775 million people use underground railways in a year. This facility was opened for public in 1863. Paris on the second number with 199KM of underground railway track which cater 1191 million people in a year.This was developed in 1900.Tokyo opened its railway system in 1927 which now handle around 1927 million people which is highest among all of these six countries.Its lenght is 155 KM. Washington DC is on 4th of the list with 126 km of track which was opened in 1976 and 144 million people annually travel using underground railway system. Kyoto opened its railway system in 1981 with only 11 KM of route and 45 million passengers travel through it.Los Angeles comes on the last of the list which opened its underground railway system in 2001 with the total route of 28KM . 50 million people use it in a year.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You include information for all six cities and report the opening dates, route lengths and annual passenger figures, so the response is relevant to the table. However, the main features are not clearly selected or summarised: there is no distinct overview identifying, for example, London as the oldest and longest system and Tokyo as the busiest, while Kyoto has the shortest route and fewest passengers. The comparison that Tokyo has the highest passenger total is useful, but the claim that London is “at the top of the list” is ambiguous because it leads only in route length, not passenger numbers. Several details are presented city by city without drawing out the key contrasts, leaving the task only partially addressed.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response follows a generally understandable order: it introduces the table and then describes the cities, mostly in the order shown. This gives the reader a basic route through the information. However, the writing is largely one continuous paragraph, and the repeated pattern of naming a city followed by its figures does not create a clear overall progression or group related comparisons. Linking phrases such as “on the second number,” “on 4th of the list” and “comes on the last of the list” are repetitive and sometimes awkward. Use a separate overview paragraph, then group the largest or busiest systems and the smaller systems, with clear comparison links such as “whereas” and “by contrast.”

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough topic vocabulary to communicate the basic data, including “route,” “passengers,” “opened” and “annually.” There are also attempts at more descriptive phrasing, such as “longest route” and “highest among all.” However, the range is limited and some choices are inaccurate or unnatural: “cater 1191 million people” does not clearly express annual passenger use, and “comes at the top of the list” is imprecise. Spelling errors such as “cites,” “sevral,” “Londaon” and “lenght” are noticeable and reduce the accuracy of the report. Aim for precise, consistent terms such as “annual ridership” and “route length,” and check spelling before submitting.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response attempts some longer sentences and uses past and present forms to describe opening dates and current use. Nevertheless, the range of sentence structures is limited, and errors occur frequently enough to make parts of the writing awkward. For example, “Paris on the second number” is not a complete sentence, while “people that travel in a year who using” has faulty clause structure and verb form. Articles and agreement are also inconsistent, as in “underground railway system” and “This tables below shows.” Punctuation and spacing around commas and full stops are uneven. Build more reliable simple sentences first, then add controlled comparisons using structures such as “Although London has the longest route, Tokyo carries the most passengers.”

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