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 table illustrates data on the underground railway system in six different towns.

Overall, it can be seen that the oldest system are the largest route length, whereas Tokyo has the highest number of the passengers. The most established system in Kyoto and Los Angeles are significantly smaller and less used.

London opened its underground in 1863 and has the longest route at 394 kilometers, survive 775 million people per year. In addition, Paris opened in 1900, has a 199 km route and serves 1191 million passengers. Moreover, Tokyo, which opened in 1927, has a shorter route pf 155 km but handles the highest number of voyagers, at 1927 million annually.

In contrast, the remaining three cities have much smaller systems. Furthermore, Washington availble in 1976, with 126 km of track and 144 million travelers. Kyoto and Los angeles are the newest and smallest, carrying 45 million and 50 million riders respectively.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You identify the main comparisons clearly: London has the longest route, Tokyo carries the most passengers, and Kyoto and Los Angeles have the smallest systems. The overview also recognises the contrast between the older, larger networks and the newer, smaller ones. Most figures are reported accurately, and the response covers all six cities. However, the overview’s claim that the oldest system is the largest route is imprecise: London is the oldest and has the longest route, but Paris and Tokyo carry more passengers. The final paragraph also gives no route length or opening date for Kyoto and Los Angeles, so those comparisons are less fully developed. Include these figures and make the overview’s comparisons more exact to strengthen coverage further.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction and overview are followed by details about the three larger systems and then the remaining cities. Linking expressions such as “In addition,” “Moreover,” and “In contrast” help signal relationships between the information. This gives the report a coherent progression. At times, however, the connectors feel mechanical or do not add a distinct relationship, particularly the repeated additive transitions. The final paragraph groups Washington with Kyoto and Los Angeles but gives only partial details for the latter two, which makes the comparison less balanced. Use fewer, more purposeful linking phrases and organise the figures so each comparison is easy to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a reasonable range of vocabulary for describing the table, including “route length,” “handles,” “annually,” and “carrying.” However, several choices are inaccurate or unnatural for this context: “towns” is less suitable than “cities,” “survive 775 million people” does not express passenger use, and “voyagers” is an awkward substitute for passengers. There are also spelling errors in “pf,” “availble,” and “Los angeles.” These issues make some descriptions less precise, even though the intended comparisons are generally understandable. Prefer standard transport collocations such as “serves,” “carries,” or “records” passengers, and check spelling and capitalization carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of sentence forms, including a complex comparison beginning “Tokyo, which opened in 1927,” and the sentences are generally understandable. Some grammatical errors remain, however. In the overview, “the oldest system are” has a subject–verb agreement problem, and “the most established system in Kyoto and Los Angeles are” has an unclear singular/plural structure. The sentence beginning “In addition, Paris opened in 1900, has…” incorrectly joins two finite verb phrases with a comma. “Washington availble in 1976” also lacks a finite verb. Aim to make each sentence’s subject and main verb clear, and review agreement and punctuation when combining clauses.

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