Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-17

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 4.5)

The table illustrates the information about the underground railway systems in six cities, for example London, Paris, Tokyo, Washington DC, Kyoto, and Los Angeles.

Overall, this table shows the data about six cities underground railway system with the reference of the cities names as well as with the date of opened,how many kilometers of route and passengers per year (in millions).It is actually the comparison among above mentioned cities.

The table talks about that the highest rate of passengers per year are in Tokyo, which are 1927 millions, it's route is 1927 killometers, and it was started in 1927. Beside, this the report also shows the lowest passengers per year is in Los Angeles which are about only 50 millions, it's opened date was 2001 and it's route in kilometers is 28 . However, Paris is on the second number in passengers per year around 1191, and London is on the third number underground railway passengers per year are 775 millions, and the rest of others like Washington DC, Kyoto are on almost same average.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You identify the table’s subject and report several relevant comparisons, including Tokyo’s highest annual passenger figure and Los Angeles’s lowest, as well as Paris and London’s passenger totals. However, the overview mainly describes what the table contains rather than summarising its key patterns. More importantly, you misreport Tokyo’s route length as 1,927 kilometres; the table gives 155 kilometres. The opening dates are also not accurately compared, and Washington DC and Kyoto are described as having “almost same average” despite their figures differing substantially. To strengthen the response, select the main contrasts across all three measures and check each figure carefully against the table. (The response meets the required length; 9 words copied from the task prompt were not counted.)

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

The response has a basic paragraph structure, moving from an introduction to an overview and then to comparisons. Linking expressions such as “Overall,” “Beside, this,” and “However” show an attempt to connect ideas. Nevertheless, progression is limited: the overview repeats the table headings, while the final paragraph combines several cities and measures in a long, difficult-to-follow sequence. Some connections are unclear, particularly “the rest of others like Washington DC, Kyoto are on almost same average,” which does not explain what is being compared. Organise the details into clearer groups—for example, older and longer systems, then shorter and newer ones—and use references that make each comparison explicit.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant topic vocabulary, including “underground railway systems,” “passengers per year,” and “kilometers of route,” so the reader can generally identify the subject and measures. However, the range is limited and several phrases are repetitive or unnatural, such as “the table talks about,” “on the second number,” and “the rest of others.” Spelling and word-form errors, including “killometers,” also reduce precision. Aim for concise, conventional language for describing data: use verbs such as “records” or “shows,” and phrases such as “ranked second” or “annual passenger numbers.” More accurate collocations would make the comparisons clearer without requiring more complicated vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

You attempt both simple statements and longer sentences, and the opening sentence communicates the topic clearly. However, grammatical control is inconsistent, especially in the longer comparison sentence. Examples include “the highest rate … are,” where the subject and verb do not agree, and “which are 1927 millions,” which has an incorrect structure for reporting a figure. Missing spaces after punctuation and comma splices also make sentences harder to read. Possessive forms are repeatedly confused in “it's route” and “it's opened date”; these require “its.” Practise building shorter comparison sentences with accurate subject–verb agreement, articles, and punctuation before combining ideas into more complex structures.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

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