Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

The chart illustrates the details below the surface rail network in six rural areas known as London, Paris, Tokyo, Washington DC and Kyoto.

As an overview, it is evident that Tokyo represents the largest number of passengers per year while, Paris shows the second immense of the passengers that travel per year.

To begin with, Tokyo accounted for 1927 millions of the total passengers in the year of 1927 it completes around 155 kilometres which was significantly higher than Paris at 1191 millions total moreover it downright mile almost 199 before 27 years it is held in the year of 1927.

Moving towards to the rest of the information, London and Washington DC represents the smallest numbers of 775 and 144 millions respectively. last one is Kyoto it drives only 11 klick and begin at the year of 1981 which was crucially lowest in every category it considered only 45 million traveller each year.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You identify two relevant headline features: Tokyo has the highest annual passenger figure, and Kyoto has the shortest route and lowest passenger total. However, the overview is incomplete because it does not summarise the route-length pattern or the contrast between the oldest and newest systems. Several figures are reported inaccurately or unclearly: “1927 millions” should be 1,927 million passengers, and the sentence about Paris mixes its passenger total, route length and opening date. London and Los Angeles are not both covered clearly, and the claim that London and Washington have the “smallest numbers” is misleading because they are not the two lowest in every category. Select the key comparisons and report each figure with its correct measure.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

There is a basic paragraph structure, with an introduction, an overview and two detail paragraphs, and phrases such as “To begin with” and “Moving towards” signal a change in focus. However, the progression between comparisons is difficult to follow. The first detail paragraph moves from Tokyo to Paris and then back to Paris’s opening date without clearly separating the data. In the next paragraph, “London and Washington DC” are grouped together despite their very different figures, before Kyoto is introduced as “Last one.” Some linking words, including “moreover,” do not show a clear relationship between the facts. Organise the details into clear comparisons—for example, older/larger systems and newer/smaller ones—and use links that accurately express those relationships.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some task-related vocabulary, including “passengers per year,” “kilometres,” and “overview,” so the reader can recognise the subject. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations make the data hard to interpret. “Rural areas” is inaccurate for cities, “the second immense” is not a natural way to describe a ranking, and “it downright mile” does not communicate Paris’s route length. “Klick” is informal and misspelled, while “drives” is unsuitable for describing a railway system’s passenger total. Aim for precise, neutral terms such as “cities,” “second-highest,” “route length,” and “carried” or “served” passengers. Check spelling and use the same clear labels for each measure throughout.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt longer sentences and use some subordinate clauses, as in “which was significantly higher than Paris,” but these structures are often faulty or incomplete. The opening sentence has an unclear construction (“details below the surface rail network”), and the overview’s “while” clause is punctuated incorrectly. There are also agreement and tense problems: “London and Washington DC represents” should use a plural verb, and “it completes” does not fit the past-time data. Several sentences run together without effective punctuation, particularly the Tokyo–Paris comparison, making relationships between clauses unclear. Practise building accurate simple sentences first, then combine them with controlled clauses. Use consistent past-tense reporting and check subject–verb agreement and sentence boundaries.

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