Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)

Railway systems in major cities are the backbone of transportation. By far it is also the affordable mode of commute from one place to another. The history of Underground rail network dates back to 1860s, marking London to be the oldest and longest underground rail network.

The underground railway system of Tokyo serves greatest number of passengers per year. The trend of using Railway for daily commute is low in America and Korea as many people prefer to take their own vehicle. Kyoto having the least network of rail routes also serves few passengers per year.

The number of passengers using railway systems for their daily commute are influenced by number of factors. One factor is the strong old established system of railway network and the the design of city. Some cities are designed for cars and private vehicles and some are designed for pedesterians. Those cities which have the largest number of passengers getting benefit from the railway sytem are those which were designed only for people who want to walk. Another factor is the demographic spread across the land. Those cities whose number of passengers are less than others are demographically spread in different regions. The population density is low therefore railway systems are not prioritized in those cities.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify several relevant headline features: London is the oldest and has the longest route, while Tokyo carries the most passengers and Kyoto has the smallest network and fewest passengers. However, the response only partially summarises the table. It omits key comparisons, including Paris’s high passenger total, Washington DC’s figures, and the contrast between London’s extensive route and Tokyo’s greater usage. The later discussion of car-oriented city design, population density and commuting preferences is not supported by the table, and the claim about Korea is irrelevant because Korea is not listed. To improve, focus on accurately reporting the supplied data and compare the six cities, rather than explaining causes that the table does not provide.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable overall arrangement: an opening, a paragraph on selected features, and a final paragraph discussing possible influences. This gives the reader some progression, and phrases such as “By far” and “Another factor” help connect ideas. However, the final paragraph shifts away from summarising the table, so the progression does not consistently serve the task. Some links are also unclear: “Those cities which have the largest number of passengers” does not specify which cities, and the relationship between the table’s figures and the proposed explanations is not established. Organise the body around direct comparisons—for example, older versus newer systems, then route length and passenger numbers—and use clear references to the named cities.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of topic vocabulary, including “underground rail network,” “passengers per year,” “population density” and “demographic spread.” These choices make the general subject clear, and some less common expressions are attempted. However, several word choices or collocations are inaccurate or unsuitable for a data summary: “the affordable mode of commute,” “trend of using Railway,” and “designed only for people who want to walk” sound unnatural or make unsupported claims. There are also spelling and form errors, such as “pedesterians” and “sytem.” Aim for precise, neutral reporting language, such as “carried,” “recorded,” “route length” and “annual passenger numbers,” and check spelling and capitalization consistently.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple statements and more complex structures, including “Those cities whose number of passengers are less than others are demographically spread in different regions.” Most sentences remain understandable, so grammatical errors rarely obstruct the message. Some errors nevertheless affect accuracy and control. For example, “The number of passengers … are influenced” has subject–verb disagreement; “the the design” repeats an article; and “Kyoto having the least network … also serves” is an awkward, incomplete construction in this context. The sentence beginning “Some cities are designed…” also runs together several ideas. Practise checking agreement, articles and sentence boundaries, and use straightforward comparative structures to report the figures accurately.

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