Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

The given table provides information on tunnel system for trains found in different cities.

Overall, the most common path used by trains to travel by the passenger is of Tokyo while Kyoto being the least. Furthermore, the longest way to travel is by using London city route and again Kyoto has the shortest path.

The famous route for underground railway is of tokyo with 1927 millions of people travelling the distance off 155 kilometers. Moreover, Paris being most crowded trains after Tokyo and the average amount of people who uses railway is of london city.Kyoto and Los Angeles have around same number of people who uses trains to travel throung underground path.

Furtheremore, the railway system that was found the earliest is London railway system which is in 1863. Paris and Tokyo were discovered around the same date as for the Wasgington DC and Kyoto was also discovered between 1900 to 1981. Lastly, in 2001 Los Angeles underground railway system was discovered.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify several important comparisons, including Tokyo’s highest annual passenger figure, London’s longest route and earliest opening, and Kyoto’s shortest route. These are relevant features and give the response a useful overview. However, some details are inaccurate or unclear: Tokyo is described as the “most common path,” and the statement that Paris and Tokyo opened around the same date is misleading, as their opening years are 1900 and 1927. The passenger comparison also becomes difficult to follow in “the average amount of people who uses railway is of london city.” To strengthen the summary, report the figures precisely and compare the systems directly, including the notably low passenger totals for Washington DC, Kyoto and Los Angeles.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has an overview followed by paragraphs that broadly group passenger use and opening dates, so there is some organisation. Linking expressions such as “Overall,” “Furthermore,” and “Lastly” help signal movement between points. However, progression is not consistently clear: the second paragraph shifts from Tokyo to Paris, London, Kyoto and Los Angeles without a clear comparison structure, while the final paragraph’s statement about systems being “discovered between 1900 to 1981” is hard to interpret. Some transitions are also repetitive or mechanical. Organise the details into clearer groups—for example, route length and passenger numbers, followed by opening dates—and use explicit comparisons to connect the figures.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some task-related vocabulary, including “underground railway,” “route,” “passengers,” and “railway system,” which makes the topic recognisable. However, the range is limited, and several expressions are imprecise or unnatural for describing a table. “Most common path” does not convey the highest passenger total, while “longest way to travel” is less precise than language about route length. There are also noticeable spelling errors, including “throung,” “Furtheremore,” and “Wasgington.” Repeated use of “discovered” for the year a railway began is also unsuitable. Use accurate data-reporting terms and check spelling carefully to make comparisons clearer and more formal.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple sentences and longer structures, including the overview beginning “Overall” and the sentence starting “Furthermore.” However, control is inconsistent, and errors in sentence construction and agreement sometimes make the meaning difficult to follow. For example, “the average amount of people who uses railway is of london city” has problems with the noun phrase, subject–verb agreement and sentence pattern. “Kyoto and Los Angeles have around same number of people who uses trains” also needs an article and plural agreement. The opening phrase “The given table provides information on tunnel system” is missing an article. Practise building clear comparison sentences with accurate articles, plural forms and subject–verb agreement.

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