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 table compears among six prominent cities regarding the underground railway system where the users give their preferences.

Overall,it is clearly seen in the table that users of underground railway ,the city of Tokyo individuals gained the highest where Kyoto seen as the less.In terms of route,the city of London has the longest while Kyoto the smallest.

On the one hand,people who prefers to travel by train are seen in the table where Tokyo city started its journey of train after Paris and London city but recorded as the most user with 1927 million.London city started its journey in 1863 and seen as a moderate number of people prefer it inspite of its highest route at 394 kilometers.Paris is seen as the second highest user among the six cities.

On the other hand,Washington DC started1976 with 126 kilometer of railway route but the people do not express a happy users.The city of Kyoto and Los Angeles seen as a unhappy users with almost lowest using with 45 and 50 million users respectively.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify several relevant headline features: Tokyo has the highest annual passenger figure, London has the longest route, and Kyoto has the shortest route. You also include comparisons involving Paris, Washington DC, and Los Angeles. However, the overview is partly unclear, and some interpretations are unsupported: the table reports passenger numbers, not users’ preferences or whether passengers are “happy.” Important comparisons are also missing, especially that London opened earliest, Los Angeles latest, and Tokyo’s passenger total is far above the others. To strengthen the response, describe the figures neutrally and accurately, and select key contrasts across all three categories rather than inferring opinions from the data.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic structure, with an introduction, an overview, and two body paragraphs. The contrast markers “On the one hand” and “On the other hand” help signal a change in focus. However, the progression within the paragraphs is not consistently clear: the first body paragraph moves between opening dates, passenger totals, and route length without a clear organising principle, while the second groups cities but does not explain the comparisons. Some references, such as “the city of Tokyo individuals,” are difficult to follow, and punctuation spacing is inconsistent. Grouping the data by a clear feature—for example, oldest and longest systems versus newer and shorter ones—would make the comparisons easier to track.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some task-related vocabulary, including “route,” “kilometers,” and “passengers,” and attempt comparison language such as “highest” and “longest.” However, the range is limited, and several word choices or collocations make the meaning unclear. “Users give their preferences” and “a happy users” are not appropriate descriptions of the table, which gives passenger totals rather than opinions. “Moderate number” is also vague when a precise figure is available. There are spelling errors, including “compears,” and repeated use of “city” and “users.” Use accurate terms such as “annual passenger numbers,” “carried,” and “recorded,” and vary comparison phrases while keeping them closely tied to the data.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more extended sentences, including clauses beginning with “where” and “while,” but control is inconsistent. Errors in sentence structure and agreement occur in phrases such as “the city of Tokyo individuals gained the highest” and “people who prefers to travel.” Several sentences omit necessary verbs or use incomplete constructions, as in “Kyoto the smallest” and “Washington DC started1976.” Articles, plurals, and punctuation also need attention; for example, “a unhappy users” has mismatched article and number, and there are missing spaces after commas and before figures. These errors sometimes make the intended relationships difficult to understand. Practise complete subject–verb sentences and check agreement, articles, and punctuation when editing.

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