Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-29

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 provides the data about the transpotation of underground rilway system manually in six cities.

overall, the london railway has in 19th sentury while, paris , tokyo, wshigton DC and kyoto got opend in 20th century and los Angeles in 21th.simalarly, london has the highest rate in transport whereas, kyoto gets the lowest share throughout the record. in terms of massengers, tokyo, is on the top while kyoto was on the low level.

regardings the openning, the londen got opende in 1863 very early while paris in later in 1900. tokyo in 1927 while washigton DC and kyoto had oppened in 1976 and 1981 respectively. lastly, los Angeles took begane in 2001.

as for routs, london has the huge amount of distance of 394km while kyoto has the shortest way of only 11 km. furthermore, paris has 199km , tokyo with 155km while, wshington DC and Losengeles had 126km , 28km respectively.

Next, pessengers per year,the tokyo has largest share of pessengers of 1927 while, paris have 1191 and londen with 775 p/y. in conrast, other cities had a very small number of visiters as compare to tokyo.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the main contrasts in the table: London is the oldest system and has the longest route, Tokyo carries the most passengers, and Kyoto is smallest on several measures. You also report the opening dates and figures for all six cities, so the response addresses the task. However, some comparisons are less fully developed: for example, the overview says other cities have a “very small number” of passengers without distinguishing Washington’s 144 million from Kyoto’s 45 million and Los Angeles’s 50 million. The overview could also state more precisely that London’s route is longest, while Tokyo leads in annual passenger numbers. Clearer, more accurate comparisons would make the key features easier to understand.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable overall structure: an introduction and overview are followed by paragraphs on opening dates, route length and passenger numbers. This gives the information a generally coherent arrangement. Linking expressions such as “regardings the openning,” “as for routs” and “Next” help signal the topic of each section, but the transitions are sometimes mechanical, and several sentences join comparisons in a way that makes relationships unclear. For instance, “Tokyo in 1927 while Washington DC and Kyoto had opened…” is not a complete, smoothly connected sentence. Use complete sentences and group related comparisons more deliberately; this would improve progression and make the links between figures clearer.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant vocabulary for describing data, including “highest,” “lowest,” “respectively” and “per year.” However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate, such as “rate in transport,” “share of passengers,” “shortest way” and “number of visitors.” These expressions can make the data harder to interpret because the table concerns route length and annual passenger totals, not transport rates or visitors. Spelling errors, including “transpotation,” “rilway” and “pessengers,” are also noticeable. Build a more precise set of terms for tables—such as “route length,” “annual passenger numbers,” “recorded” and “carried”—and check spelling carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including comparisons with “while” and a sentence using “respectively.” The main ideas are usually understandable, but some grammatical errors affect clarity. For example, “the London railway has in 19th century” lacks a suitable verb construction, and “Paris have 1191” has subject–verb disagreement. Articles and sentence boundaries are also inconsistent, as in “the Tokyo has largest share” and the comma after “Tokyo” in “Tokyo, is on the top.” Aim to form complete clauses, use consistent past or present tense when reporting the table, and check agreement, articles and punctuation. More accurate control of these patterns would make your comparisons easier to follow.

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