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 provides the information about Underground Railway Systems in six different cities. Different features have been discussed in the provided table including the commencement date, km per route and number of passengers per year.

In 1863, the Underground Railway Systems started in London where it covered around 394km of route and around 775 million people travelled using the train. Paris started its first URS system in 1900 and covered 199km per route and 1191 million passengers used the railway service.

In 20th Century, the system started for most of the cities presented including Tokyo (1927), Washington DC (1976) and Kyoto (1981). Tokyo covered 155 km per route, considering the 1927 million passenger to travel making it the highest number of passengers among the others. Washington noted 126km per route and 144 million passengers. Kyoto has the least covered km per route i.e., 11 and passenegers travelled are 45 million.

In 2001, Los Angelos opened their underground railway systems covering 28 km per route and in its first trip had 50 million passengers on board.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You report several key figures accurately, including London’s 394 km route, Tokyo’s 1,927 million passengers and Kyoto’s 11 km route, and you identify Tokyo as having the highest passenger total. However, the response gives no clear overall summary of the main contrasts across all six systems. It also misinterprets the table when it says Tokyo had “1927 million passenger to travel,” which could be confused with the opening year, and describes Los Angeles’s 50 million as passengers “in its first trip,” although the table gives an annual figure. The comparison of route lengths and passenger numbers is limited, and some details are presented without explaining their significance. A clearer overview and consistently accurate reporting of what each column measures would strengthen the response.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response is divided into paragraphs and generally moves through the cities in a sensible chronological order, from London to Los Angeles. This gives the reader a basic structure, and phrases such as “In 20th Century” signal a shift to later systems. However, the progression is mostly a sequence of separate city descriptions rather than a comparison organised around the main features. Connections between the figures are limited, and the repeated pattern of naming a city, route length and passenger total makes the report feel list-like. Some references, such as “the system” and “their underground railway systems,” are not fully precise. Grouping the oldest and newest systems or contrasting route length with annual use would make the organisation clearer.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant topic vocabulary, including “commencement date,” “route,” “passengers” and “covered,” so the main subject is usually understandable. However, the range is limited and some word choices or collocations are inaccurate or awkward. “Km per route” does not clearly express the table’s measure of route length, while “first trip had 50 million passengers on board” incorrectly suggests a single journey rather than annual usage. There are also spelling errors, including “passenegers” and “Los Angelos,” and “URS system” is an unclear abbreviation. Aim for precise, repeated-use terms such as “route length” and “annual passenger numbers,” and check spelling and collocation before submitting.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You use a mixture of simple sentences and some longer structures, and most of the information remains understandable. For example, the opening sentence introduces the table, while the later paragraphs combine dates and figures. However, sentence patterns are often repetitive, and there are errors in articles, agreement and phrasing. “The information about Underground Railway Systems” would be more natural with an article before the system name, and “the system started for most of the cities” is an awkward construction. In “Kyoto has the least covered km,” the structure is also difficult to follow. Work on forming clear comparisons and maintaining consistent past-tense reporting; this will improve accuracy while allowing more varied sentence structures.

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.