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 table illustrates data about a study of the underground railway systems among 6 diffrent cities.

Overall,Tokyo had the largest share of passengers per year,London had the longest Kilometers of route whilst Kyoto had the shortest.

Despite the fact that Tokyo railway station opened in 1927, it scored 1927 million passenger per year, which was the highest proportion ever.Although Paris metro station opened 27 year earlier it was the second highest,it had 1191 commuter a year.London was the first underground railway system, it was established in 1863 and had the longest road, 394 kilometers to be specific.

Washington DC,Los Angeles and Kyoto were the smallest three cities based on passengers per year respectivly, even though Kyoto route was only 11 kilometers it had the lowest passengers per year just 45 million which is really low compared to others

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify several key comparisons, including Tokyo’s highest annual passenger figure, London’s longest route and Kyoto’s shortest route, and you include relevant dates and figures for these systems. However, the overview is incomplete: it does not clearly summarise the contrast between the older, larger networks and the newer, smaller ones, and Washington DC and Los Angeles receive little detail. Some comparisons are also imprecise; for example, calling Washington DC, Los Angeles and Kyoto the “smallest three cities” does not specify whether you mean passenger numbers or route length. The response is 12 words below the required minimum, which limits the detail available. To strengthen coverage, report all six cities accurately and compare both route length and passenger use.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable overall structure: an introduction, an overview and a body paragraph with comparisons. Linking expressions such as “Overall,” “Despite the fact that” and “Although” show an attempt to connect ideas. However, the progression is not consistently clear. The final sentence groups three cities together, then shifts to Kyoto without explaining the comparison, while Washington DC and Los Angeles are not individually described. Some links also create confusing relationships, such as “Despite the fact that” before Tokyo’s opening date and passenger total. Use separate, logically ordered paragraphs for the overview and detailed comparisons, and group cities by a clear feature, such as route length or passenger numbers.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant vocabulary for describing data, including “largest,” “longest,” “shortest,” “established” and “passengers per year.” This gives the reader a basic understanding of the main comparisons. However, several choices are inaccurate or unnatural for this table: “largest share” suggests a proportion, “scored” is unsuitable for passenger totals, and “road” does not describe a railway route. “Metro station” also refers to a station rather than the whole system. There are noticeable spelling errors, including “diffrent” and “respectivly,” and some repetition of “opened” and “passengers.” Choose precise terms such as “annual ridership,” “network” and “route length,” and check spelling before submitting.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mixture of simple and complex sentences, including clauses beginning with “Despite the fact that” and “Although,” and the main meaning is generally understandable. However, complex sentence construction is not consistently controlled. For example, “Although Paris metro station opened 27 year earlier it was the second highest” lacks a clear reference for “it” and needs punctuation; “London was the first underground railway system, it was established…” joins two independent clauses with a comma. There are also errors in number and articles, as in “1927 million passenger” and “the longest Kilometers.” Use full stops or conjunctions to separate clauses, and check singular/plural forms and article use. More accurate sentence patterns would make the comparisons easier to follow.

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