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 given table compares the underground railway system in London and other five cities in terms of distance, opening date and passengers per years in million.

Overall, London is the first city who built underground railway system and as well as the largest underground railway track among other cities. However, Tokyo accounted for the largest passengers per years.

Firstly, London has the oldest underground railway track with opening date of 1863 and the largest railway route among others at 394 km, followed by London, Paris was successful in building 199 km long railway track in 1900. Tokyo had built its 155 km long railway track in 1927. Washington DC and Kyoto built their railway route in the difference of five years such as 1976 and 1981 respectively, but the main difference was between their length. Los Angeles experienced railway track in 2001 with 28 km long route.

In terms of passengers per years, Tokyo accounted for the largest number of passengers approximately 1927 millions, followed by Paris and London at 1191 and 775 millions significantly. Washington DC and Kyoto had 144 and 45 million passengers per year respectively. Meanwhile Los Angel

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the main comparisons: London is the oldest system and has the longest route, while Tokyo carries the most passengers. The response also includes figures for all six cities, which keeps it relevant to the table. However, coverage is incomplete because the final sentence about Los Angeles is cut off, so its annual passenger figure is not reported. Some comparisons are also unclear or inaccurate in expression: “followed by London, Paris” repeats London instead of clearly comparing Paris, and the overview could summarise the contrast between the older, larger systems and the newer, smaller ones. A more complete overview and precise reporting of every key figure would make the summary more fully developed.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, a paragraph about route length and opening dates, and a paragraph about passenger numbers. This gives the reader a basic route through the information. However, progression is weakened by the unfinished ending, “Meanwhile Los Angel,” and by the confusing sequence “followed by London, Paris,” which interrupts the comparison. Linking phrases such as “Firstly,” “However,” and “Meanwhile” are used, but some connections feel mechanical or do not clearly show the relationship between the figures. Grouping the cities more deliberately and completing the final comparison would improve the flow and make the organisation easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough topic vocabulary to communicate the table’s main categories, including “underground railway,” “route,” “passengers,” and “opening date.” There are also attempts at more formal reporting language, such as “accounted for” and “respectively.” However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or repetitive, including “railway track” for a route, “experienced railway track” for a system opening, and “passengers per years.” “Successful in building” also adds an unsupported judgement rather than neutrally describing the data. These choices sometimes make the meaning less precise. Prefer standard data-reporting expressions and vary “route” and “passengers” only when the alternative is accurate.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including a contrast with “However” and a clause beginning “while” in the overview. The main information is generally understandable, but errors in sentence construction and grammatical forms are noticeable. For example, “the first city who built” uses an unsuitable relative pronoun and tense, while “London has the oldest … with opening date of 1863” is missing an article. The sentence beginning “Washington DC and Kyoto built their railway route in the difference of five years” is awkwardly structured, and the final sentence is incomplete. Check articles, verb forms, and sentence completeness, and use shorter sentences when a comparison becomes difficult to control.

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