Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-19

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 illustrates the data about the underground railway systems in London, Paris, Tokyo, Washington DC, Kyoto, and Los Angeles.

The most primitive railway system was first opened in London in 1863. It had three hundred ninety four kilometers of route. The train concept was new at that time. Therefore, the number of passengers were seven hundred seventy five millions per year.

After 37 years, when it came in Paris in 1900, its speed was mitigated. Nevertheless, the number of passengers were expanded.

By the time, when the railways become common among the people, we could see the reduction in the speed and passengers.

At the end, when it came in Los Angeles in 2001s, the speed was assuaged to 28 kilometers of route. In addition to this, the number of passengers were reduced to 50 millions per year.

The time when it was on top-notch was in Tokyo with 1927 Millions travellers per year.

Additionally, it was least in Kyoto with 45 Millions travellers per year.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You identify the six cities and include several relevant figures, such as London’s opening date and route length and Tokyo’s annual passenger total. However, the summary does not accurately report or compare the main features across the table. In particular, “speed” is not shown in the data, and the claims that speed was “mitigated” or “assuaged” are therefore unsupported. Important comparisons are also missing: London has the longest route, Tokyo the highest passenger use, and Kyoto the shortest route and lowest passenger total. Some figures are omitted, including those for Paris and Washington DC. To improve, select the clearest extremes and trends, and report the table’s actual measures precisely.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

The response follows a broadly chronological order, moving from London to later-opening systems, and uses linking expressions such as “After 37 years,” “Nevertheless,” and “Additionally.” This gives the reader some sense of sequence. However, the progression is difficult to follow because the comparisons are not organised around the table’s categories, and several transitions connect ideas that the data do not support. For example, “By the time, when the railways become common” introduces a general claim without a clear link to the figures. The final comments on Tokyo and Kyoto also feel detached from the preceding discussion. Grouping the information into a clear overview and focused comparisons of route length and passenger numbers would make the organisation more coherent.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant topic vocabulary, including “underground railway systems,” “kilometers of route,” and “passengers per year,” and you attempt a range of descriptive language. However, several word choices are inaccurate or unnatural for describing statistics: “speed was mitigated,” “passengers were expanded,” and “speed was assuaged” do not express changes in route length or passenger totals. “Most primitive” is also an unsuitable description of the oldest system, while “top-notch” is too informal for an academic report. These choices sometimes make the intended comparison unclear. Prefer precise, neutral terms such as “opened,” “route length,” “carried,” “highest,” and “lowest,” and use the same terminology as the table.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response includes mostly straightforward sentence patterns and attempts some longer clauses, for example, “After 37 years, when it came in Paris in 1900, its speed was mitigated.” However, control is inconsistent, particularly with verb forms, agreement, and sentence construction. Examples include “the number of passengers were,” where the singular subject requires “was,” and “when the railways become common,” where the tense does not fit the past-time account. The construction “By the time, when” is also faulty, and “in 2001s” uses an incorrect time expression. These errors do not make every sentence impossible to understand, but they reduce clarity. Practise accurate past-tense reporting and check subject–verb agreement in each sentence.

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

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