Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-26

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 compares the information of six cities underground railway system which shows the information about when they become in process, distance of route and the number passengers travel annualy in millions.

Overall, London is marked as the longest route, Paris and Tokyo marked as having highest passenger annualy, Washington is in the middle whereas, Koyto and Los Angeles are almost same in passengers and the small difference in kilometers of route.

In 1863, London opened Railway line of 394 kilometers route which took 775 millions passengers every year, Paris has opened rail track in 1900 with the total route of 199 kilometers and 1191 millions passenger each yeas in contrast, Tokyo started route of 119 kilometers with having 1927 million passengers annualy in 1927.

In 1976, Washington DC started their railway route of 126 kilometers with taking 144 millions passengers every year, Kyoto opened Railway system in 1981 with route of 11 kilometers with having 45 millions passengers whereas Los angelas Railway begin in 2001 with 28 kilometers route and 50 million passengers.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You cover the main features by identifying London as having the longest route and comparing passenger numbers across the cities. The overview also notes that Kyoto and Los Angeles have similar passenger totals, and the body includes dates, route lengths and annual passenger figures for all six systems. However, some key comparisons are unclear or inaccurate: Tokyo’s route is given as 119 kilometres, whereas the table shows 155, and the overview groups Paris and Tokyo as having the highest passenger numbers without clarifying that Tokyo leads and Paris is second. The comparison of the two smallest systems could also be more precise. To strengthen the summary, check every figure and make the ranking and contrasts explicit.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, an overview and two body paragraphs, with the older systems discussed before the newer ones. This gives the information a generally coherent progression. Linking expressions such as “whereas” and “in contrast” help signal comparisons, but some are used awkwardly or join too many facts in one sentence. For example, the sentence beginning “Paris has opened rail track” runs directly into the Tokyo comparison, making the relationship between the figures harder to follow. The overview’s “Washington is in the middle” is also vague. Use shorter, clearly punctuated sentences and organise comparisons around meaningful groups, such as the oldest systems and the newest systems.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant vocabulary for describing the table, including “route,” “passengers,” “opened” and “in contrast,” so the main information is generally understandable. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate, such as “information of six cities underground railway system,” “become in process,” and “passengers travel annualy.” Repetition of “route” and “with having” also makes the description less natural. Spelling errors, including “annualy,” “Koyto” and “Los angelas,” further reduce precision. Build a small set of accurate chart-description phrases and check spelling and word forms; for example, use “annual passenger numbers” and “the system began operating” rather than literal or awkward expressions.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, and the reader can usually understand the comparisons. However, some sentences contain several clauses without clear grammatical control, particularly the sentence combining Paris and Tokyo, which lacks a full stop or suitable conjunction between the comparisons. There are also errors in articles, agreement and number, as in “six cities underground railway system” and “1191 millions passenger,” as well as inconsistent tense forms such as “Paris has opened” alongside “London opened.” Improve accuracy by using a consistent past tense for opening dates, checking singular and plural forms, and separating each city’s figures into complete sentences. More reliable sentence control would make the information easier to follow.

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