Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-28

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 given table illustrates the information about the underground railway systems in six cities which are London, Paris, Tokyo, Washington DC, Kyoto, and Los Angeles.

London was the first country who build underground railway station for the first time in 1863.

They established a route of 394 kilometers on which 775 million people can travel per year. After the successful operating of London underground railway system, Paris also constructed the underground railway system. Although the route was 199 kilometers but the number of passengers who travelled on train significantly increased to 1191 million people per year. However, Tokyo also build the underground railway system in the year 1927 and made a route of 155 kilometers and this time the number of passengers rapidly increased to 1927 million per year that was the highest record as compared to the other cities. In 1976, Washington DC build the underground railway station of 126 kilometers long. However the number of passengers decreased to only 144 million passengers per year.

Kyoto opened a railway in 1981 while Los Angles opened in 2001.The number of passengers decreased significantly and only 45 and 50 million people travelled respectively.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify all six cities and report the three measures, including the key extremes: London opened earliest and has the longest route, while Tokyo records the most passengers. However, the response does not provide a clear, accurate overview of the main patterns across the table. The claim that passenger numbers “decreased significantly” for Kyoto and Los Angeles is misleading: their figures are the lowest, but they are not a continuation of Washington’s trend, and Los Angeles has slightly more passengers than Kyoto. Some details are also imprecise, such as saying London was the first “country” and describing passengers as people who “can travel.” A concise overview and more exact comparisons would make the summary more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a generally understandable sequence, moving from the oldest systems through to the newer ones, and it uses linking expressions such as “Although,” “However,” and “while.” This gives the reader a basic sense of progression. However, the organisation is largely a list of cities rather than a clear grouping of the main comparisons, and repeated transitions sometimes make the relationships between figures unclear. For example, “However” introduces Washington after Tokyo without a meaningful contrast, while the final sentence combines Kyoto and Los Angeles without clearly distinguishing their route lengths or passenger totals. Use a separate overview and group cities by notable similarities or extremes; make each linking word express the actual relationship.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough topic vocabulary to communicate the table’s subject, including “route,” “passengers per year,” “constructed,” and “opened.” Some attempts at comparison, such as “significantly increased” and “highest record,” also show an effort to describe trends rather than simply copy figures. However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or repetitive: “first country” does not describe London, “build underground railway station” is not the right expression for a system, and “successful operating” is awkward. “Decreased significantly” also misrepresents the comparison between the final cities. Aim for precise terms such as “system,” “network,” “route length,” and “annual ridership,” and use neutral comparison language rather than implying a trend where the table shows separate city figures.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mixture of simple and longer sentences, including a concessive structure in “Although the route was 199 kilometers…” and a time clause beginning “After the successful operating…”. The main information is usually understandable, but errors in verb forms, articles, and sentence construction recur. For example, “London was the first country who build” has an unsuitable relative clause and incorrect verb form; “Tokyo also build” should use a past-tense verb, and “the underground railway station of 126 kilometers long” is not grammatically well formed. Some sentences are also joined in ways that make their structure awkward, particularly the long sentence about Paris and Tokyo. Practise accurate past-tense reporting and build shorter, controlled comparisons before adding complex clauses.

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