Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-21

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 6.5)

The table compares the opening dates, route lengths and annual passenger numbers of underground railways in six cities.

Overall, London has the oldest and longest underground railway system, whereas Tokyo records the highest annual passenger numbers. Kyoto has the shortest route and the lowest passenger numbers in total, while Los Angeles has the most recently opened system.

London started the oldest in 1863 and had the longest route of 394 kilometers, while Paris began in 1900 with the second-longest route of 199 kilometers. In addition, Tokyo started later in 1927 and had the third-longest route of 155 kilometers. Tokyo had the highest number of passengers recorded at 1927 million, followed by Paris at 1191 million passengers, while London had 775 million passengers.

Los Angeles started recently in 2001 with a route of 28 kilometers and 50 million passengers per year use the railway system. In contrast, Washington, DC and Kyoto started in 1976 and 1981 with 126-kilometer and 11-kilometer routes, respectively.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

The response selects the main features and gives a clear overview: London is identified as both the oldest and longest-running system, Tokyo as the busiest, and Kyoto as having the shortest route and fewest passengers. It also reports the key figures for all six cities and makes relevant comparisons among the three largest systems. This coverage and support are effective. To make the account more fully developed, include the passenger figures for Washington, DC and Kyoto, which are omitted from the detail paragraph, and compare these with Los Angeles’s 50 million. Also ensure that figures are described precisely: “1927 million” is the annual passenger total, not a date or a general count. These refinements would make the comparisons more complete and precise.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The information is arranged in a clear sequence: an introduction, an overview, a paragraph on the older and busier systems, and a final paragraph on the newer systems. Linking expressions such as “Overall,” “In addition,” and “In contrast” help signal relationships between points. The progression is generally easy to follow, but some connections are mechanical, and the final paragraph lists opening dates and route lengths without completing the comparison of passenger figures. The phrase “In contrast” also introduces Washington and Kyoto, although the contrast is not made explicit. Grouping the cities by a clearer shared feature and using more precise links between their figures would make cohesion more flexible and the progression more consistently analytical.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

The vocabulary is adequate for describing the table, and the response uses relevant terms such as “route lengths,” “annual passenger numbers,” “second-longest,” and “most recently opened.” These choices make the comparisons understandable. However, some wording is imprecise or repetitive: “started the oldest” is not a natural way to describe a system’s opening, and “passengers recorded at 1927 million” could be expressed more clearly as an annual total. “Started recently” is also vague when the exact year is available. Aim for more accurate collocations and varied reporting verbs, while retaining the clear, task-appropriate vocabulary already used. This would improve precision and flexibility without requiring unnecessarily complex language.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, including comparisons with “while” and “whereas,” and most sentences communicate the intended information clearly. There are some grammatical weaknesses in otherwise understandable writing. In “50 million passengers per year use the railway system,” the present-tense clause is awkwardly attached to a sentence reporting past opening details; a construction such as “it carried 50 million passengers annually” would be more controlled. The phrase “London started the oldest” also has an unclear grammatical structure. Check that each sentence has a consistent reporting pattern and that comparisons are formed cleanly. Greater control of these structures would make the response smoother and more accurate.

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