Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 11 · 2026-11-05

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 gives various information about the underground railway systems in six cities around the world.

While London has the oldest and longest route, Tokyo railway is used by the most people and Los Angeles railway system is the latest one out of the six cities. There is also Paris, Kyoto and Washington DC railway system where Paris is the second largest and longest railway system in terms of Passengers per year and route length .

London underground railway system is the only one that's established in the 19th century in 1863, whereas Paris, Tokyo, Washington DC and Kyoto in the 20th centruy in 1900,1927,1976 and 1981 respectively. Los angeles is the only one that started in 21st century in 200.

Inspite of being the oldest, London has the longest route of 394 kilometers. Paris, Tokyo, Washington has route length of 199, 155 and 126 kilometers respectively while Kyoto and Los angeles are the shortest railway system with 11 and 28 kilometers respectively.

Tokyo has the largest passenger population out of the six cities of 1927 million per year, on the other hand Kyoto and Los angeles has the smallest passenger count with 45 and 50 million per year respectively. Paris, London, Washington DC respectively has 1191,775 and 144 million passengers per year.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the main contrasts: London is the oldest and has the longest route, Tokyo carries the most passengers, and Los Angeles is the newest. You also report figures for all six cities, so the response addresses the task and gives a useful overview. However, some comparisons are unclear or inaccurate: Paris is described as “the second largest and longest railway system in terms of Passengers per year and route length,” although it has the second-longest route but not the second-highest passenger total. The overview could also highlight that the oldest systems tend to be larger, while the newer ones are shorter and less used. Check the date for Los Angeles: the table gives 2001, not 200.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable progression from an introduction and overview to details about opening dates, route lengths and passenger numbers. Grouping related figures in separate paragraphs helps the reader follow the information. However, links between ideas are sometimes mechanical or unclear. For example, “There is also Paris, Kyoto and Washington DC railway system where…” does not clearly explain the comparison, and the final paragraph lists passenger figures in an order that makes the comparison harder to track. Some sentences also combine several cities and figures without clear punctuation. Organise the details into more balanced groups and use explicit comparisons, such as contrasting the two longest routes with the two shortest, to make the progression smoother.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for describing a table, including “oldest,” “longest route,” “established,” and “passengers per year.” This gives you enough range to communicate the main information. However, several choices are imprecise or repetitive: “passenger population” is not a natural way to describe annual ridership, and “largest passenger count” would be clearer as “highest annual passenger total.” The phrase “second largest and longest” is also confusing because it does not distinguish route length from passenger numbers. There are spelling errors such as “centruy” and “Inspite,” as well as inconsistent capitalisation of “Los Angeles.” Use precise terms consistently and check spelling and proper nouns before finishing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and complex sentences, including a contrast with “whereas” and a sentence beginning “Inspite of being the oldest.” Most of the information remains understandable, but some grammatical errors and punctuation problems reduce accuracy. For example, “Tokyo railway is used by the most people” needs a possessive or article (“Tokyo’s railway”), while “Kyoto and Los angeles has” has a subject–verb agreement error. In “Paris, Tokyo, Washington has route length,” the plural subject also requires “have,” and the sentence needs clearer punctuation around the figures. Review agreement, articles and possessives, and divide long lists into shorter, accurately punctuated sentences.

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

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