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 table provides the data about the six differnt cities who has underground railway station, it also shows how many millions of passengers are travelling in a year.

Overall, London has the oldest as well as the longest railway route, while kyoto has the shortest railway line. Moreover, Tokyo occupied significant number of passengers on the other hand Kyoto has the least number of travellers in their station.

Oldest railway station is London which is opend 1863 and had 400 kilometers route as compared to the Pais whose opened in 1900 and contained almost 200 kilometers of railway line. However, Tokyo station was opened for public in 1927 with 155 kilometers of route and also had the significant high number of transport users, Kyoto was opend in 1981 with shortest railway line of almost 11 kilometers and had least number of travellers around 11 million per year.

Most recent railway station opend in Los Angeles in around 25 years ago with 28 kilometers railway path and has 50 million passengers, in contrast Washington DC was opened in 1976 and had 126 kilometers railway path with 144 million people used the station

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the main contrasts: London is the oldest and has the longest route, while Kyoto has the shortest route and Tokyo carries the most passengers. You also include figures for all six cities, so the response is relevant to the table. However, coverage is only partial because several key details are inaccurate or omitted. For example, Tokyo’s passenger figure is 1,927 million, not simply an unspecified “significant high number,” and Kyoto’s annual total is 45 million, not “around 11 million”; 11 refers to its route length. Paris and London’s route lengths are rounded, but the passenger comparisons are not developed. Report the exact figures accurately and compare the highest and lowest passenger totals as well as route lengths.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic overall structure: an introduction, an overview, and two paragraphs of details. The overview gives the reader a useful starting point, and phrases such as “while” and “in contrast” signal comparisons. However, progression within the detail paragraphs is uneven: the third paragraph moves from London and Paris to Tokyo and Kyoto in a long, crowded sentence, while the final paragraph gives the remaining cities without a clear comparison of their figures. Some linking is mechanical, and the final sentence lacks a full stop. Grouping the cities by useful contrasts and giving each comparison a clear sentence would make the organisation easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant vocabulary for describing the table, including “oldest,” “shortest,” “route,” and “passengers,” and you attempt alternatives such as “travellers” and “transport users.” This gives the response enough basic language to communicate the topic, but the range is limited and several choices are inaccurate or unnatural. For example, “occupied significant number of passengers” does not express passenger volume naturally, and “railway station” refers to a station rather than the whole underground system. Spelling errors such as “differnt,” “opend,” and “Pais” are also noticeable. Use precise terms consistently, such as “system,” “route length,” and “annual passenger numbers,” and check spelling.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including comparisons with “while,” “as compared to,” and “in contrast.” However, control is inconsistent, and several sentences contain errors that make relationships between facts harder to follow. Examples include “six differnt cities who has,” where the subject and verb do not agree, and “whose opened in 1900,” where the clause is incorrectly formed. Articles and verb forms are also often missing or inaccurate, as in “Oldest railway station is London” and “Most recent railway station opend.” Long sentences joined by commas, particularly the one covering London, Paris, Tokyo, and Kyoto, need clearer punctuation or division into shorter sentences. Practise accurate past-tense reporting and sentence boundaries.

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