Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

The table below describes the data on the underground railway system in London,Paris, Tokyo, Washington Dc, Kyoto and Los Angeles.between the year 1863 to 2001. route meassured in kilomiters while the passengers are meassured in in millions per year.

overall, Paris and Tokyo recorded highest number of passengers, 1191 and 1927 respectively with the route kilometer of 199 and 155 respectively.

Contrastingly, Kyoto and Los Angeles had the least million passengers and kilomiters of route, 11 -28 and 45-50 respectively. it was also observed that London recorded the highest kilometers and is the oldest city but had 775 passengers. Washington DC IN 1976

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify several relevant comparisons, including Tokyo’s and Paris’s high passenger totals and London’s status as the oldest system with the longest route. However, the report addresses the table only partially: Washington DC is left unfinished, and the figures for Kyoto and Los Angeles are presented unclearly as “11 -28 and 45-50,” making it difficult to tell which numbers refer to route length and which to passengers. There is no complete overview of the main patterns across all six cities, and some data are omitted. The response also falls short of the required 150 words. To improve, report the key figures accurately, cover every city, and add a concise overview of the oldest/largest and newest/smallest systems.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has a basic structure: an introductory sentence followed by two comparison paragraphs, and “Contrastingly” signals a shift to the smaller systems. This gives the reader some sense of organisation. However, progression is limited because the comparisons are compressed into unclear number strings, and the final fragment, “Washington DC IN 1976,” does not complete the point or connect it to the preceding information. The opening also combines the city list and measurement details in a way that is difficult to follow. Organise the report into a clear overview and logically grouped comparisons, and use complete sentences with explicit links between each city and its figures.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant task vocabulary, such as “underground railway system,” “passengers,” “route,” and “recorded,” and you attempt comparison with “Contrastingly.” This is enough to communicate the general subject, but the range is limited and several word choices or forms reduce clarity. “route kilometer” is awkward, while “least million passengers and kilomiters of route” does not express the comparison naturally. There are also noticeable spelling errors, including “meassured” and “kilomiters,” and inconsistent capitalisation of city names. Use standard data-reporting phrases such as “route length,” “annual passenger numbers,” and “the lowest figures,” and check spelling and city-name capitalisation.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response attempts both a longer introductory sentence and comparison sentences, but the grammatical range is limited and errors occur frequently enough to make some relationships unclear. For example, “between the year 1863 to 2001” uses an incorrect time construction, and “Paris and Tokyo recorded highest number” is missing an article and does not clearly express the plural comparison. The sentence beginning “Contrastingly” has an unclear structure, while “Washington DC IN 1976” is a fragment rather than a complete sentence. Capitalisation and punctuation are also inconsistent, including the lower-case “overall” and the missing space after “London,”. Practise complete, controlled sentences and accurate comparative forms.

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

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