Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-11-04

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 tabular chart provides the information regrading below the surface railway line in six urban cities in the United Kingdom.

As an overview, it can be noticed that the majority passengers per year that were travelling in 1927 the city called Tokyo and the least amount of passengers shown in Kyoto its around 45 millions commuter in single year.

To begin with, the greater numbers of individuals that were travelling around cities is almost 1927 millions traveller per year in Tokyo. the second largest is Paris it starts in the year of 1900 and only carried 1191 passengers per year. Moreover, London is below around 775 passengers per year.

Moving towards to the rest of the information, the Washington DC were started in 1976 and it covers 126 kilometres per year and convey around 144 millions individuals. the rest of them are below 100 millions first is Kyoto that completed around 45 millions passengers and Los Angeles carried 5 million in one year.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify some important comparisons, including Tokyo as the busiest system and Kyoto as the least used, and you report several passenger figures. However, the overview is incomplete and partly inaccurate: it does not mention that London has the longest route, while Tokyo’s 1,927 million passengers are described unclearly as occurring “in 1927,” which is actually its opening year. Several key figures are omitted or misreported, notably Los Angeles’s 50 million passengers (written as 5 million), and route lengths are not compared consistently. The response therefore covers the table only partially, with relevant but under-developed reporting. To strengthen it, summarise the main contrasts accurately, include the route-length extremes, and distinguish opening dates, route kilometres and annual passenger totals clearly.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable overall arrangement: an introduction, an overview, and two body paragraphs. Phrases such as “To begin with” and “Moving towards” signal a shift between groups of cities, so the reader can follow the broad direction. However, the grouping is not fully logical: the first body paragraph focuses on passenger numbers, while the second mixes opening dates, route length and passenger totals without a clear comparison pattern. Some linking is mechanical, and references such as “the rest of them” are vague. Organise the data by a consistent feature—for example, largest and smallest systems, then passenger use—and use precise references to make the progression clearer.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some task-related vocabulary, including “passengers per year,” “kilometres,” “covers” and “carried,” and you attempt to vary the wording for people using the systems. However, the range is limited and several choices are inaccurate or awkward, which sometimes makes the data difficult to interpret. “Below the surface railway line” is not a natural description of an underground railway system, and “the greater numbers of individuals” is an imprecise way to describe passenger totals. There are also spelling and form errors, such as “regrading” and “millions traveller.” Prefer standard chart language and accurate collocations, such as “annual passenger numbers,” “route length” and “carried 50 million passengers.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more extended sentences, including an overview beginning “As an overview” and a comparison introduced by “Moreover.” However, control is uneven, and errors in sentence boundaries, agreement, articles and number forms sometimes make the meaning unclear. For example, “the majority passengers per year that were travelling in 1927 the city called Tokyo” lacks a clear grammatical structure, while “the Washington DC were started” has incorrect agreement and verb construction. Capitalisation after full stops is also inconsistent. Build clearer sentences around one comparison at a time, check subject–verb agreement and singular/plural forms, and use punctuation to separate complete ideas.

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