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 presents the information about the underground railway systems in six cities.

Overall the cities showed different specifications.while london ic accounted for the largest track kyoto represented the smallest.In addition the number of passenger varied considerably with some cities showing the substantial increase while other declined.furthermore london underground railway system is the oldest whereas los angeles was the latest.

To begin with the oldest Underground Railway System was located in london which opened in 1863 and accounted for the largest track with 394 Kilometers of route and entertain 775 million Passengers per year this was followed by paris which opened in 1900 and contain 199 kilometers of route 1191 million passengers visits this railway station yearly.meanwhile tokyo opened in 1927 and had 155 kilometer of railway track where 1927 million visitors came.turning to the washington dc railway system opened in 1976 with 126 kilometer of route and 144 million passengers use it.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You identify several key comparisons, including London as the oldest system with the longest route and Kyoto as the smallest, and you report figures for London, Paris, Tokyo and Washington DC. However, the overview is partly inaccurate: passenger numbers did not “decline”; the table gives different annual totals, with Tokyo highest and Kyoto lowest. The response also omits the figures for Kyoto and Los Angeles, so it does not cover all six cities, and some comparisons are underdeveloped. The response is 144 words, below the required 150-word minimum. To improve, include every city, accurately summarise the passenger extremes, and add a concise comparison of the two newest systems.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has an identifiable overview followed by a paragraph describing the systems, and sequencing phrases such as “To begin with,” “Meanwhile” and “Turning to” help signal movement between cities. However, the progression is incomplete: the description stops after Washington DC, leaving Kyoto and Los Angeles unreported, and the overview’s points are not consistently supported in the details. Some linking is mechanical, while punctuation and spacing—such as “specifications.while” and “yearly.meanwhile”—make boundaries between ideas unclear. Organise the details into a clear sequence, perhaps oldest to newest, and use separate, correctly punctuated sentences. A final comparison of the two most recent systems would give the response a more complete progression.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant topic vocabulary, including “underground railway system,” “route,” “opened” and “passengers per year,” and you attempt a range of expressions to describe comparisons. However, several choices are inaccurate or unnatural: “accounted for the largest track” is not a natural way to describe route length, “entertain 775 million passengers” gives the wrong meaning, and “passengers visits this railway station” is awkward. “Substantial increase” and “declined” also misrepresent the table, which shows differing totals rather than a trend over time. Capitalisation is inconsistent, and spelling and word forms need checking. Prefer precise data-reporting language such as “had the longest route” and “carried 775 million passengers annually.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple statements and longer sentences joined with clauses, for example the sentence beginning “To begin with the oldest Underground Railway System…”. This shows some range, but the longer constructions are often difficult to control. There are errors in articles, agreement and verb forms, as in “the number of passenger varied” and “which opened… and contain 199 kilometers”; the latter should maintain past tense and a clear subject. Several sentences run together because full stops are followed immediately by the next sentence, and commas are missing around introductory phrases. Break long descriptions into shorter sentences, check singular and plural agreement, and keep verb tense consistent when reporting the historical opening dates and current figures.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.