Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)

The supplied table enumerates the information about the underground railway system in London, Paris, Tokyo, Los Angeles, Kyoto and DC.

Overall, London has the longest routes and is the oldest underground railway system, on the other hand, Kyoto has the minimal kilometer routes. Moreover, both Paris and Tokyo are similar distance routes.

The oldest underground railway system in London, which opened in 1863, has the longest route in the category, and it carried 775 millions passengers in one year. In contrast, the modest tunnel system in Los Angeles opened in 2001, where 50 million people travelled in a year, and the route has 28 kilometer long.

In the 20th century, four major railway tunnel projects are opened in different cities. The first one is Paris, opened in 1900 and having the 199-kilometer-long route on this project, 1191 million passengers travelled in one year. The shortest and newest system in Kyoto only has 11 km routes, and just forty-five million people use this to go somewhere. Remaining Tokoy and DC are similar in length, with routes of 155 and 126, but Tokoy carried 1927 million while DC carried only one hundered and fouty-four million passengers.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You identify the main contrasts clearly: London is the oldest and has the longest route, while Kyoto has the shortest, and Tokyo carries the most passengers. You also include figures for all six systems, so the response addresses the table rather than selecting only a few entries. The overview is useful, but the claim that Paris and Tokyo have “similar distance routes” is imprecise: their routes are 199 km and 155 km, and the more striking comparison is that Tokyo carries far more passengers. Some details are also less fully reported, particularly the relative passenger figures across the systems. To strengthen the summary, make the overview more selective and compare the extremes and notable contrasts accurately, without describing the systems as “major” when the table gives no such classification.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and two detail paragraphs. The information is generally grouped sensibly, and phrases such as “In contrast” help signal comparisons. However, progression is sometimes weakened by awkward or unclear links. “On the other hand” does not fit smoothly after the London point, and “Remaining Tokoy and DC” makes the relationship between the final examples difficult to follow. The paragraph about the twentieth century also groups four systems without a clear organising principle, then moves between opening dates, route lengths and passenger totals. Use a consistent comparison pattern—such as oldest/largest, then newer/smaller systems—and make references explicit so the reader can follow each comparison without rereading.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use a reasonable range of task-related vocabulary, including “enumerates,” “longest route,” “modest,” and “carried,” and the meaning is usually clear. There are also attempts at less common phrasing, but some choices are inaccurate or unnatural for describing a table: “minimal kilometer routes,” “similar distance routes,” and “tunnel projects” do not express the intended comparisons precisely. Spelling errors in “Tokoy,” “hundered,” and “fouty” also reduce accuracy. Prefer standard data-reporting collocations such as “shortest route,” “comparable route lengths,” and “underground systems.” Check spellings carefully and choose vocabulary that describes the figures directly rather than adding unsupported characterisations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You attempt a mix of simple and complex structures, including the relative clause “which opened in 1863” and the contrastive sentence beginning “In contrast.” Most of the information remains understandable, but some grammatical errors recur. For example, “it carried 775 millions passengers” has an incorrect plural form, while “the route has 28 kilometer long” has a faulty construction and number agreement. “Four major railway tunnel projects are opened” also uses an inappropriate verb form for completed openings in the past. Articles and sentence boundaries need attention in phrases such as “having the 199-kilometer-long route on this project.” Practise accurate past-tense reporting and concise patterns such as “the system opened in…” and “its route is 28 kilometres long.”

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.