Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)

The tabular format categorizes six cities and provides the information on one of the transport system that is the underground railway systems.

The data compares the six cities, out of which London and Tokyo had topped in covering the distance of the route and passengers per year while Kyoto remains the lowest on both covering the route and the passengers.

It can be observed that London was the city for which the underground railway system opened in the year 1863 which was one of the earliest in all, completed 394 kms while carrying 775 Million passengers per year. Paris and Tokyo also covered similar distances between 150 to 200 kms, opened in the early 1900s. Tokyo, marked the highest number of passengers being carried; 1927 Million people per anum whereas Paris carried 1191 Million people.

On the other hand, in Washington DC, it was inaugrated in the year 1976 which covered 126 kms and carried 144 M people per year. Los Angeles' underground railway system opened in the early 2000s, covering 28 kms, the second least in comparision, carrying 50 M passengers. Kyoto city's underground railway opened in the year of 1981, marking the least in both; the route covered in killometers as 11 and the least number of passengers of all as 45 M.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You identify the main contrasts: London has the oldest and longest system, Tokyo carries the most passengers, and Kyoto is smallest on both measures. The response also includes relevant figures for all six cities, so the key information is covered. The overview is useful, but its claim that London and Tokyo “topped” in both route distance and passenger numbers is imprecise: London leads in route length, while Tokyo leads in passengers. Some comparisons are also underdeveloped, such as the contrast between the two newest systems and the much larger networks. Make the overview more exact, then group and compare the figures by clear patterns to develop the summary further.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction, a broad overview, and paragraphs describing the larger and smaller systems. Transitions such as “On the other hand” help signal a shift to the less extensive networks. However, the progression is not always fully controlled. The overview’s combined claim about London and Tokyo blurs two different rankings, and the final paragraph moves from Washington to Los Angeles and then Kyoto without making the comparison between them explicit. Some linking is also mechanical, particularly repeated use of “which” and “carrying.” Organise the details around contrasts—for example, older/larger systems versus newer/smaller ones—and use references that make each comparison clear.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use a reasonable range of task-related vocabulary, including “route,” “carrying,” “inaugurated,” and “covered,” and the meaning is generally clear. There are, however, several inaccurate or awkward choices that limit precision. “Topped in covering the distance” is not a natural way to describe the highest figure, while “completed 394 kms” suggests the system finished a journey rather than having a route of that length. “Passengers per year” is better expressed consistently as annual passenger numbers, and “per anum” is misspelled. Other spelling errors include “inaugrated,” “comparision,” and “killometers.” Choose standard collocations for describing data and check spelling carefully; this will make the vocabulary more accurate and natural.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You attempt a mix of simple and more complex sentence forms, including relative clauses and contrastive structures, and the main comparisons remain understandable. Some grammatical errors recur, however. In the opening, “one of the transport system” needs a plural noun and a more accurate article pattern; “London and Tokyo had topped” uses an unsuitable tense for describing the table; and “Kyoto remains the lowest” shifts tense from the past descriptions. The sentence beginning “Tokyo, marked the highest number” also has an unnecessary comma separating the subject from its verb. Review articles, agreement, tense consistency, and punctuation, and simplify sentences when several details are being joined. More consistently accurate structures would improve control.

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