Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

The table illustrate passengers travelled in the underground railway systems in six different cities.

Overall, the highest numbers of passengers traveled is in Tokyo and lowest one is in Kyoto, the railway route is longest in London and smallest in Kyoto.

In this table six different cities railway system are shown in which the most oldest one is London and the recent one is Los Angeles, the more passenger travel in the train is the city of Tokyo with a maximum number of 1927 million passengers per year and the train is least prefered is in Kyoto with a number of 45 million passengers per year.

Another point is the distance of the route is different in all cities but the largest railway track is in the London city with a maximum distance of 3

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You identify several relevant headline features: Tokyo has the highest annual passenger figure, Kyoto the lowest, London the longest route, and London and Los Angeles are the oldest and newest systems. However, the response only partially summarises the table. It gives little comparison of the remaining cities, omits key figures such as Paris’s passenger total and Washington DC’s route length, and the final sentence stops at “3,” leaving the route comparison incomplete. The overview is also limited and repeats points from the body rather than drawing together the main contrasts. The response is 15 words below the required minimum, which further restricts the detail you can report. Include accurate comparisons across all three measures and complete the summary of London’s route length.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has a basic structure, with an opening statement, an overview, and further details introduced by “Another point.” This gives the reader some sense of how the information is organised. However, progression is limited: the second paragraph repeats the overview’s points about Tokyo, Kyoto, London, and the opening dates, while the final paragraph begins a route comparison but ends abruptly. Linking is also repetitive, particularly through repeated use of “in” and “with,” and the relationship between some ideas is not clearly signalled. To improve, organise the details into clear comparisons—for example, older and longer systems versus newer and shorter ones—and use concise references to avoid repeating the same facts.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some task-relevant vocabulary, including “passengers,” “route,” “distance,” and “per year,” so the topic is generally clear. However, the range is limited and several choices are inaccurate or unnatural, such as “the train is least prefered” and “railway track” for a route network. “Passengers travelled” also does not clearly describe the table’s annual passenger totals. Spelling errors such as “prefered” are noticeable, and repeated wording reduces precision. Aim to use standard data-reporting expressions and vary them appropriately: for example, describe passenger numbers as “annual ridership” or say a system “carried” a stated number of passengers. Accurate, natural collocations will make your comparisons easier to understand.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple statements and longer sentences, and the main comparisons can usually be understood. However, grammatical errors occur frequently. The opening “The table illustrate” has subject–verb disagreement, while “the highest numbers of passengers traveled is in Tokyo” combines an incorrect verb form with an awkward sentence structure. In “six different cities railway system are shown,” the possessive form and agreement are missing. The final sentence is incomplete, ending with “3,” and several sentences join multiple ideas without clear grammatical control. Practise accurate subject–verb agreement, articles and possessives, and check that every sentence has a complete main clause. Shorter, complete sentences would help you report the figures more reliably.

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