Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-10-31

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 given table chart illustrates the data of railway system which is underground across six cities.

In overview, London's underground railway opened in 1863 which is oldest one from data while, Los angeles started in 2001, that is latest one.

Tokyo railway is most popular between passagers, opened in 1927 with 155 km of route, it carries 1927 million passengers every year, followed by paris comes on second most popular position with 1191 million passengers every year, opened in 1900 with 199 km of route. However, Kyoto witness even lower passengers than Los angeles railways, accounting for 45 million, opposed as 50 miilion passengers.

Meanwhile, 775 million passengers use london railways being five time more than in washington DC as 144 million, have been recorded in table. In contrast, London is known for longest km of routes, reaching 394 km, whereas, tokyo railway sytem is most popular between passengers with 1927 miilion.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify several important features: London is the oldest system and has the longest route, Los Angeles is the newest, and Tokyo carries the most passengers. You also make useful comparisons, such as Kyoto’s lower passenger total than Los Angeles’s. However, coverage is uneven: the opening dates and route lengths for some cities are not compared systematically, and Washington DC’s route length and Kyoto’s and Los Angeles’s route lengths receive little attention. The overview could also summarise the broad pattern across all six systems, rather than focusing mainly on the oldest and newest. To strengthen the response, report the key extremes for each measure and include the less-developed figures in clear comparisons.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, moving from an introduction and overview to comparisons of passenger numbers and route lengths. Linking expressions such as “However,” “Meanwhile,” and “In contrast” help signal relationships between points. Nevertheless, progression is not always clear: the paragraph beginning “Tokyo railway is most popular” combines opening dates, route lengths, and passenger totals, then shifts to Kyoto and Los Angeles without a consistent comparison pattern. The final sentence repeats Tokyo’s passenger lead, already stated earlier. Grouping the information by measure—for example, passenger use first and route length and opening dates next—would make the sequence easier to follow and reduce repetition.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for describing the table, including “opened,” “route,” “passengers,” “accounting for,” and “reaching.” These choices make the main comparisons understandable. However, some word choices and collocations are awkward or imprecise, such as “table chart,” “most popular between passagers,” and “second most popular position.” “Popular” is also less precise than language describing passenger volume, since the table reports usage rather than popularity. There are spelling and capitalisation slips, including “passagers,” “miilion,” “paris,” and “tokyo.” Use accurate terms such as “annual passenger numbers” and “carried,” and proofread city names and figures carefully to improve precision.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a contrast with “while” and a comparison introduced by “whereas.” The main information is generally understandable, but some sentence structures are incomplete or awkward. For example, “Tokyo railway is most popular between passagers, opened in 1927…” joins details without a clear grammatical connection, while “Meanwhile, 775 million passengers use london railways being five time more than in washington DC as 144 million, have been recorded in table” has unclear clause structure and agreement. Articles and punctuation also need attention, as in “which is oldest one from data” and the comma after “while.” Build comparisons in complete sentences and check articles, verb forms, and clause boundaries.

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.