Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-11-06

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

The maps below show the centre of a small town called Islip as it is now, and plans for its development.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

Student answer (Band 5.5)

The maps reveal the centre of a small town called islip as it now and plans for its development.

It is clearly seen from the given maps the islip town centre now countryside are built some shops around by main road and other empty area built for housing, the school is built the direction of south and right side of corner shows the park.

However, in the future islip town centre totally changed. The countryside area replaced into many things for instance, shops converted into bus station, shopping centre and park. In addition, in the north east direction, new housing area would be occupied. And between shops and mini markets the pedestrians only allowed. The school is same place. Apart from this, park area conerted into small. Lastly, the dual carriageway area would be quiet big.

Overall, the number of factors shows that in the now time few things are built and also lack of advancement. On the other side, plans for its development convertd into many things.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the broad contrast between the town as it is and its planned redevelopment, and mention several relevant features, including the pedestrian-only street, new housing, the school remaining, the smaller park and the dual carriageway. However, the account is only partly accurate and the main changes are not clearly summarised. For example, the northern shops are replaced by a bus station, shopping centre and car park—not a park—and the southern shops remain. The countryside is not described as being replaced by these facilities. Your overview, “few things are built” and “lack of advancement,” is vague and evaluative rather than a clear summary of the planned transformation. To strengthen the response, distinguish the northern and southern sides of the central street and report the key changes and retained features accurately.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic overall sequence: it first describes the present map, then the proposed plan, and ends with a general overview. This gives the reader some sense of the comparison. However, progression within these sections is not consistently clear, and several ideas are joined mechanically with “However,” “In addition,” “Apart from this,” and “Lastly.” Some references are difficult to follow, such as “between shops and mini markets,” since mini markets have not been introduced and the location is unclear. The final paragraph repeats the contrast without adding a precise summary. Organise the details by location—for example, changes north and south of the pedestrian street—and use linking phrases only where they clarify a comparison or sequence.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant map vocabulary, including “pedestrians only,” “dual carriageway,” “housing,” and “school,” so the topic is generally recognisable. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations make the description unclear: “built around by main road,” “converted into many things,” and “the dual carriageway area would be quiet big.” There are also spelling errors such as “conerted” and “convertd,” alongside inconsistent capitalisation of “Islip.” Aim for precise verbs and location phrases suited to describing plans, such as “is replaced by,” “lies to the north of,” and “is reduced in size.” This would make the map changes easier to understand and reduce reliance on vague expressions such as “many things.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response attempts a few longer sentence forms, including “However, in the future…” and “In addition…,” but most structures are simple, and complex attempts are often faulty. For example, “It is clearly seen from the given maps the islip town centre now countryside are built…” lacks a clear grammatical structure, while “the school is built the direction of south” is missing a necessary preposition and has an unsuitable verb form. Tense and agreement are also inconsistent in “plans for its development convertd into many things.” These errors sometimes make relationships between features difficult to understand. Practise accurate present-tense descriptions of the current map and future forms for the plan, using complete clauses with clear subjects and verbs.

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