Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-24

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 5.5)

The table illustrates the underground railway system which were take place in six cities.

It is clear that, it was Tokyo where covered more passanger whereas Kyoto remained lowest in terms of passengers per year in millions.

In 1863,London opened underground railway system where kilometers of route was 394 and 775 was the passenger per year in millions.Afterwards,Paris where opened in 1900,and it had covered less kilometers of route than London which was 199,but passenger per year was more than London and that was 1191.It was Tokyo where underground railway system started in 1927.Although it covered less kilometers of route than London and Paris,in terms passenger per year Tokyo remained in top with 1927 passenger.

In 1976,Washington DC started underground railway system where kilometers of route and passengers per year were less than London,Paris and Tokyo that was 126 and 144 respectively.In 1981,Kyoto introduced underground railway system where kilometers of route was only 11 and passenger per year was just 45 which was lowest among the six countries.Afterwards,it was Los Angeles where kilometers of route was 28 just more than Kyoto as well as passenger per year was 50.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the main contrasts: London has the longest route, Tokyo carries the most passengers, and Kyoto has the shortest route and lowest passenger figure. The response also reports the opening dates and figures for all six cities, so the key information is relevant. However, the overview is limited to passenger numbers and does not highlight the broad pattern that the older systems generally have longer routes, while the newer ones are smaller. Some comparisons are also unclear or incomplete: Los Angeles is described as having a route “just more than Kyoto,” but its passenger total is not compared with Washington DC or the other cities. A fuller overview and more selective comparisons would make the main features clearer.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction, a brief overview, and two paragraphs that move from the older systems to the newer ones. Chronological sequencing and connectors such as “Afterwards,” “Although,” and “In 1976” help readers follow the information. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical because several sentences repeat the same “where” construction, and some links are awkward, as in “Afterwards, Paris where opened in 1900.” The overview is also separated from the detailed comparisons without fully preparing the reader for the organisation that follows. Use more varied sentence patterns and group the figures by meaningful contrasts, such as route length and passenger volume, to improve progression.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for describing the table, including “underground railway system,” “kilometers of route,” and “passengers per year,” and terms such as “lowest” and “in top” show an attempt to compare data. The range is adequate for the task, but several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural. “The table illustrates the underground railway system which were take place” does not express the table’s purpose clearly, while “covered more passenger” and “remained in top” are not natural ways to describe passenger figures. There are also spelling errors, including “passanger.” Aim for precise reporting verbs and comparison phrases, and check spelling and singular/plural forms so the data is expressed more naturally.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, including a concession with “Although” and a relative clause in “where kilometers of route was 394.” The meaning is generally recoverable, but some errors recur in verb forms, agreement, articles, and sentence construction. For example, “which were take place” has an incorrect verb form, and “it was Tokyo where covered more passenger” lacks a correctly formed clause. In “kilometers of route was 394,” the plural subject requires a plural verb. Punctuation is also inconsistent, with missing spaces after commas and full stops. Practise building accurate comparison sentences with clear subjects and verbs, then proofread agreement and punctuation.

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