Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-08-26

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 describe that comparison of a new plan of the Islip town center with the currant stage.

It is clear from the maps that there will be major changes in the future. The park area will be reduce after development and the school remain the same. In currant situation, shops are both side of the main road, but this has to be change entirely with developed new bus station, a shopping center and a car park area, while main road will dual carriageway. New housing will also input beside the car park and another will near the road.

There will one main road pass through between housing areas and shops will situate in the middle. Northern side of shops area which space will be only for pedestrians.

Overall, the starting and ending points of the main road will stay same while form of the area will be completely change.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response covers the main features of the maps, such as the new bus station, shopping centre, and the dual carriageway. However, the description is somewhat superficial. For instance, the mention of 'new housing' is vague, and the spatial relationships (e.g., 'Northern side of shops') are described in a way that is slightly difficult to follow. While the main changes are identified, the comparison between the current and future states could be more precise. The overview is present but lacks a clear summary of the most significant transformation, which is the shift from a simple road layout to a more complex, pedestrian-focused infrastructure.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response is organized into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the progression. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat mechanical and occasionally inaccurate. For example, the transition 'In currant situation' is grammatically awkward, and the link between sentences is sometimes abrupt. The referencing is occasionally unclear, such as in the sentence 'New housing will also input beside the car park and another will near the road,' where the connection to the map features is slightly disjointed. Overall, the logical flow is present but requires more sophisticated linking words to improve the coherence of the argument.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks variety and precision. There are several spelling errors, such as 'currant' instead of 'current' and 'reduce' instead of 'reduced'. The phrasing is often repetitive, relying on basic verbs like 'stay' and 'change'. While the student attempts to use topic-specific vocabulary like 'dual carriageway' and 'pedestrians', the overall range is limited. To reach a higher band, the student should focus on using more precise verbs to describe spatial changes and ensure correct spelling of common descriptive terms.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. Examples include 'The park area will be reduce' (incorrect verb form), 'shops are both side' (missing preposition), and 'this has to be change' (passive voice error). The misuse of articles and verb tenses is consistent throughout the text. While the meaning is generally understandable, the frequency of these errors prevents the writing from reaching a higher band. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and consistent tense usage would significantly improve the quality of the writing.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.