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 information about the underground railways systems in six cities between 1863 to 2001.

Overall, it can be seen that London underground railways systems was the longest, while Kyoto underground railways systems was shortest. In comparision, Tokyo passengers were used mostly per year.

In detail, London underground railways systems was opened In 1863, with 394 Kilometers of route, and the longest route among all, while 775 passengers were used per year. Similarly, Paris railways route was 199 Kilometers and used by 1191 passengers per year, it was opened in 1900.

However, Tokyo railways route was mostly used by passenger around 1927, and it was opened in 1927 with 155 Kilometers route.

Moving on to Washington DC, it was opened in 1976 and it had 126 Kilometers undergroung route, used by 144 passengers per year. Moreover, Kyoto was least used by passengers around 25 and it was opened in 1981 with 11 Kilometers. At last, Los Angeles had 28 kilometers underground railways route, and it was opened in 2001, and used by 50 Passengers annually.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify several key features, including London’s longest route, Kyoto’s shortest route, and Tokyo’s highest annual passenger figure. The overview is relevant, and the response includes information about all six cities. However, some data are inaccurate or unclear: Kyoto carried 45 million passengers, not “around 25,” and phrases such as “Tokyo railways route was mostly used by passenger around 1927” do not clearly report the figure of 1,927 million. The overview also omits the contrast between the oldest and newest systems and the substantial differences in passenger numbers. To strengthen the summary, select the most important comparisons and report each figure accurately, using millions consistently.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and detail paragraphs. Sequencing the cities with transitions such as “In detail,” “However,” and “Moving on to” helps the reader follow the information. However, some linking is mechanical or does not express the relationship clearly; “However” does not introduce a meaningful contrast before the Tokyo data, and “At last” is an awkward way to introduce Los Angeles. The Tokyo sentence also repeats the opening year without clearly connecting it to the passenger total. Grouping cities by a useful comparison—for example, the older, larger systems and the newer, shorter ones—would create clearer progression and reduce the list-like effect.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant vocabulary for describing the table, including “route,” “opened,” “longest,” and “annually,” so the topic is generally clear. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate, sometimes making the data difficult to understand. “Passengers were used” incorrectly describes people as users of the railway; “carried” or “served” would be more natural. “Railways systems” is repeated, and “mostly used” does not clearly mean that Tokyo had the highest passenger total. There are also spelling and capitalisation slips, such as “comparision” and “undergroung.” Aim for precise data-reporting phrases and vary terms such as “system,” “network,” and “annual ridership.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more extended sentence forms, including clauses joined with “while,” and the overall meaning is usually recoverable. However, errors in agreement, articles, and sentence construction remain noticeable. For example, “London underground railways systems was” has a plural subject with a singular verb, while “it was opened In 1863” has inconsistent capitalisation and an unnecessary passive construction. The sentence beginning “Similarly, Paris railways route was 199 Kilometers …, it was opened in 1900” joins two independent clauses with only a comma. Use a consistent pattern such as “The Paris system opened in 1900 and had a 199-kilometre route.” More accurate sentence boundaries and subject–verb agreement would improve control.

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