Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-25

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 chart illustrates data for the underground railway system in London,Paris,Tokyo,Washington DC,Kyoto and Los Angeles.

Overall,Tokyo has the most numbered country with the highest passengers per year,while Kyoto had the lest of the total passengers.Moreover London had the longest in kilometer of route among six countries but Kyoto had the smallest route.

Looking at the chart,among the six countries Tokyo had the most passengers among the rest with 1927 travelers using its railway system while its route is the third longest routes among the rest.Paris is the second country using railway system with 1191 millions of people per year using railway and its route was also the second longest routs among the six countries.

On the other hand,Kyoto had the smallest railway system users with 45 millions of passengers in 1981.It is also the smalllest route in terms of kilometers,with 11 kilometers away from the city.Same as Los Angeles the second country with lowest number of population traveling via railway system with 50 million passengers.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify several key comparisons: Tokyo has the highest annual passenger figure, London has the longest route, and Kyoto has the lowest figures for both route length and passengers. These points provide a relevant overview and are supported with data for Tokyo, Paris, and Kyoto. However, the report does not cover the opening dates, and Washington DC is largely omitted, so the table is only partially summarised. Some comparisons are also unclear or inaccurate: Paris is not the second city by passenger numbers in a complete ranking, since Washington DC, Kyoto, and Los Angeles have lower figures. Include all six cities and compare the opening dates, route lengths, and passenger totals accurately to make the overview more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, an overview, and two detail paragraphs. The progression from the highest figures to the lower-use systems is generally understandable, and linking phrases such as “Overall” and “On the other hand” help signal the organisation. However, some connections are mechanical or unclear. For example, “Same as Los Angeles” does not clearly explain how Los Angeles compares with Kyoto, and “among the six countries” is repeated even though the items are cities. The final paragraph also combines Kyoto and Los Angeles without a clear comparison of their route lengths or opening dates. Grouping the cities by a meaningful feature and using precise references would improve cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant vocabulary for describing the table, including “passengers per year,” “route,” “longest,” and “smallest.” This is enough to communicate the main subject, but the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate, sometimes making the meaning difficult to follow. For instance, “most numbered country” does not express the intended comparison, and “11 kilometers away from the city” describes distance from a place rather than route length. There are also spelling errors such as “lest,” “smalllest,” and “routs.” Aim for precise data-reporting language, such as “recorded the highest passenger total” and “had a route length of 11 kilometres,” and check spelling carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and more complex sentences, including clauses beginning with “while” and “with,” and the overall meaning is usually recoverable. However, some sentence structures are incomplete or awkward, such as “Same as Los Angeles the second country with lowest number…,” which lacks a clear main clause. There are also errors in articles, agreement, and sentence punctuation: “the most passengers among the rest” and “the second country” do not fit the intended city comparisons, while several sentences run together without spaces after commas. Use complete sentences with a clear subject and verb, and check article use and punctuation. More accurate control of these patterns would make the comparisons easier to understand.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.