Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-11-01

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 given table illustrates about that how much passengers travels, distonce covered and when they started the underground railway systems in London,Paris,Tokyo,Washington DC, Kyoto and Los Angeles.

Overall, there were six citys, but Tokyo was the one where the largest number of people used the underground railway, whereas in Los Angeles there were least number of people who used the railway.

The Washington DC, Kyoto and Los Angeles there were the cities which travel less then the other and the number of travelers were also less in this cities. The Los Angeles started from 2001 only covers 28 km and 50 million people used it in a year.The Kyoto started in 1981 covers only 11 km and prefered by only 11 million peoples in a year it's the city where the raliway distance less comparition to other and the users were also less.The washington DC started in 1976 ans travels around 126 km and preferd by 144 million peoples in a year.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify the table’s subject and give a relevant overview by noting that Tokyo has the most passengers and Los Angeles the fewest. You also report several figures for the three smaller systems. However, the summary is only partial: London and Paris, including the oldest system and Paris’s high passenger total, are not discussed, and the comparison of route lengths and opening dates is limited. There is also a factual error: Kyoto carries 45 million passengers annually, not 11 million; 11 refers to its route length. To make the report more complete, select the main contrasts across all six cities and check that each figure is matched to the correct category.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic structure, with an introduction, an overview, and a paragraph of supporting details. The overview gives the reader a useful starting point, and the later examples focus on the smaller systems. However, progression is limited because the final paragraph lists cities without a clear organising comparison, and London and Paris are omitted. Some linking is awkward or repetitive, particularly the repeated use of “The … started” and the long sequence of details joined with “and.” Grouping the cities by older/larger systems and newer/smaller systems, then using clear comparison phrases such as “by contrast” or “while,” would make the information easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant vocabulary, including “underground railway,” “largest number,” “covers,” and “in a year,” so the topic is generally understandable. However, the range is limited and several word choices or forms are inaccurate, sometimes making the meaning unclear. For example, “distonce covered” is an imprecise way to describe route length, while “prefered by” does not naturally describe passenger numbers. Spelling errors such as “citys,” “raliway,” and “comparition” are also noticeable. Use precise table-related terms consistently, such as “route length,” “opened,” and “annual passengers,” and proofread spelling and word forms.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response attempts both simple and longer sentence forms, but control is uneven and errors occur frequently enough to affect clarity. The opening, “illustrates about that how much passengers travels,” has an incorrect construction and subject–verb agreement. Other examples include “The Washington DC, Kyoto and Los Angeles there were the cities” and “The Los Angeles started from 2001 only covers,” where sentence structure and verb forms are faulty. Articles, plurals, and punctuation also need attention, as in “six citys” and the run-on sequence of details about Kyoto. Practise building accurate comparison sentences with a clear subject and verb, and separate related facts into shorter sentences.

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