Band 4.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.0 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-30

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 4.0)

The take below shows information about the underground railway systems in six cities. I will explain the information by selecting and reporting the main feautres, and making comparisons. Overall, the underground railway systems is six cities . the highest passengers per year in millions. and the lowest point is travelers is kyoto. Looking at the details,the railway system is diffrent cities. firstly, London the date opened in 1863 and the kilometers of route is 394 the passangers per year in millions is 775. and second, is paris

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 3.5

The response identifies the topic and begins to report figures for London, so it shows some awareness of the task. However, it does not provide a usable overview: the statement about the highest and lowest passenger numbers is incomplete and does not identify Tokyo as the busiest or Kyoto as the least busy. Most of the six cities are not described, and the comparison stops after introducing Paris. The response contains 70 words, below the required 150; the 17 words copied from the prompt were not counted. To improve, give a clear overview of the main contrasts, then report accurate figures for all six systems and compare their age, route length and passenger numbers.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 3.5

There is a basic attempt to organise the response, with an opening sentence, an overview-like statement beginning “Overall,” and a detail section introduced by “Looking at the details.” These signals show an awareness of how a report can be structured. However, the progression is difficult to follow because the overview is fragmented, and the detail section ends abruptly at “and second, is paris.” The repeated use of “and” to connect separate facts does not show clear relationships between them. Use complete paragraphs and group the information logically—for example, older and larger systems together, followed by the newer, smaller ones. Ensure each sentence develops the point introduced by the previous one.

Lexical Resource: Band 4.5

The response uses some relevant task vocabulary, including “underground railway systems,” “kilometers of route,” and “passengers per year,” which helps establish the subject. However, the range is limited and several words are repeated, particularly “information” and “cities.” There are also spelling errors in “feautres,” “diffrent,” and “passangers,” and some expressions are imprecise, such as “the lowest point is travelers is kyoto.” These choices make parts of the report difficult to interpret. Build a small set of accurate comparison phrases, such as “the longest network,” “the fewest annual passengers,” and “opened most recently,” and check spelling before submitting.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.0

The response attempts simple statements and an overview, but sentence control is weak and the range of structures is very limited. For example, “Overall, the underground railway systems is six cities” has incorrect agreement and an incomplete construction, while “the highest passengers per year in millions. and the lowest point is travelers is kyoto” consists of fragments rather than complete sentences. The London details are also joined with full stops and “and” in a way that obscures the relationships between clauses. Practise forming complete sentences with a subject and verb, and use accurate comparisons, such as “Tokyo carries the most passengers, whereas Kyoto carries the fewest.” Check capitalisation and punctuation as well.

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