Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-22

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 provides information about the underground railway systems in six cities.

Overall, London had the oldest and longest railway system, while Paris recorded the highest number of passengers per year, Kyoto presented the smallest routes and the lowest number of passengers.

Looking at the details, London had the oldest railway, opened in 1863, and had the longest railway with 394 kilometers and attract 775 millions passengers per yearr, meanwhile, Paris opened in 1900 and Tokyo in 1927 ,both had the highest number of passengers 1191 millions and 1927 millions respectively,

By contrast, kyoto and Los Angeles was the modern railway system, Kyoto opend in 1981, has the smallest route and the lowest number of passengers, 11 kilometers, 45 millions.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify the main contrasts in the table: London is the oldest and longest-running system, Paris and Tokyo carry the most passengers, and Kyoto has the shortest route and lowest usage. However, the report is incomplete: Washington, DC is omitted, and Los Angeles is mentioned only as a newer system without its route length or passenger figure. Some comparisons are also unclear, particularly the sentence grouping Paris and Tokyo. The response contains 111 words, below the required 150, so there is not enough detail to cover the data adequately. To strengthen the report, include all six cities and compare the figures systematically, especially the differences between route length and annual passenger numbers.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

There is a basic overall structure, with an introduction, an overview, and a detail paragraph, and phrases such as “Overall” and “By contrast” signal relationships between ideas. However, progression is limited because the detail paragraph combines several cities in a long, loosely connected sentence, then ends after discussing Kyoto and Los Angeles without completing the comparison. The use of “meanwhile” does not clearly show the relationship between the London, Paris, and Tokyo data, and the final sentence does not report Los Angeles’s figures. Organise the details into clearer groups—for example, older, larger systems and newer, smaller systems—and use separate sentences to make each comparison easy to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The response uses relevant vocabulary for describing the table, including “oldest,” “longest,” “highest number,” and “smallest,” so the main comparisons are generally understandable. However, the range is limited and some word choices or forms are inaccurate, such as “Kyoto presented the smallest routes” and “modern railway system.” There are also noticeable spelling errors, including “opend” and “per yearr,” which reduce accuracy. Use precise terms consistently: describe a system as having the shortest route or carrying the fewest passengers, rather than saying it “presented” routes. Check spelling and use standard data-reporting phrases to make the comparisons clearer and more natural.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt some longer sentences and use clauses to connect information, but the structures are often faulty, and sentence boundaries are not controlled consistently. For example, “London … had the longest railway with 394 kilometers and attract 775 millions passengers” shifts from past tense to an incorrect verb form, while “Kyoto and Los Angeles was” has a subject–verb agreement error. The sentence beginning “Looking at the details” also runs several comparisons together with commas, making the relationships difficult to follow. Use shorter, complete sentences and check that verbs agree with their subjects and remain in the past tense when describing opening dates. This would improve clarity while allowing you to retain some complex structures.

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