Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-09-01

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 6.5)

The two maps illustrate the centre of a town called Islip as it is now, and the planned development.

Overall, the development plan for the town centre show some significant changes to its current setup. A dual carriageay will be made, the actual main road will be a pedestrian only street, there will be more housing and a new bus station, shopping center and car pak will be built.

The first map shows a main road with shops in both sides of the road, as well as two streets at the south of the map with a school and a park; to the north there is a contryside. With the new development plan, there will be a significant number of changes in this layout. For instance, the actual main road will be transformed into a pedestrian only street, and a dual carriageway will placed in the town centre.

In terms of commercial centres, the shops on the south of the actual main road will remain the same, while a new bus stations, shopping centre and car park will be replace the actual shops to the north. A new housing area will be developed to the east area. The school will continue in the same place, and the park, while in the same place, will be smaller than the one now.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The response covers all key features of the maps, including the new dual carriageway, the pedestrianization of the main road, and the addition of new facilities like the bus station and housing. The overview is clear and highlights the most significant changes. However, there are minor inaccuracies in reporting; for instance, the text mentions shops on the south side will remain, but the map shows they are replaced by the new bus station and shopping center. Despite this, the main trends are well-identified and the comparison between the current and future states is effectively managed.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The response is logically organized, with a clear introduction, an overview, and two body paragraphs detailing the changes. The progression of ideas is easy to follow. Cohesive devices such as 'In terms of', 'For instance', and 'while' are used appropriately to link information. Paragraphing is used effectively to separate the general overview from the specific details. While some transitions could be more sophisticated, the overall structure is coherent and the information is presented in a logical sequence.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, with terms like 'pedestrian only street', 'dual carriageway', and 'planned development' used correctly. However, there are several spelling errors, such as 'carriageay', 'pak', and 'contryside', which slightly detract from the overall quality. Additionally, the word 'actual' is used repeatedly where 'existing' or 'current' would be more precise and natural in this context. The range is sufficient to convey the necessary information, but more precise collocations would elevate the score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is always clear, there are several grammatical slips, such as 'show' instead of 'shows' in the overview, 'will placed' instead of 'will be placed', and 'will be replace' instead of 'will replace'. These errors are frequent enough to be noticeable but do not impede communication. The use of passive voice is appropriate for describing map changes, though the control over verb forms needs more consistency to reach a higher band.

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

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