Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-09-11

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)

As the traffic and population has increased significantly, the Islip town centre has become a too crowded and needs to be expanded with better routes to avoid traffic conjestion. To tackle this issue, a planned development plan was created to provide better passage and introducing new business venues and facalities.

To counter the most significant issue of conjested traffic, the development plan introduced a dual carriageway which will go around the town centre with a pedestrian only road in the middle. This effectively solves the traffic issue, as people who wish to go to areas such as shopping center, bus station or car park they can take the road to the north. Similary, people traveling to the school, housing, or park can take the south road. This significatly reduces the traffic conjestion as the traffic which was through a single path now has road respective to their destinations. The pedestrain only road also provided a great oppertunities for the businesses as people could visit the shopping centers more conviniently and are not bothered by the traffic. The development plan also introduced new housing as well providing new homes for people.

Compared to old town center, the new development plan made significant improvments and efficiently utilized the space and provided various new facilities.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response covers the main features of the maps, including the dual carriageway and the pedestrianization of the town centre. However, the analysis is somewhat descriptive rather than analytical. While you identify the changes, you rely heavily on explaining the 'why' (e.g., 'to tackle this issue') rather than focusing on the spatial changes themselves. To improve, ensure you clearly contrast the 'before' and 'after' states. For example, you mention the shopping centre and school, but you could more explicitly compare their accessibility or location relative to the new road layout. The overview is present but could be more concise to better highlight the most significant transformations.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, and there is a clear progression of ideas. You use some cohesive devices like 'To counter', 'Similarly', and 'Compared to', which help the flow. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical, and the referencing is occasionally repetitive. The paragraphing is appropriate for the task, but the internal structure of the second paragraph could be improved by grouping the changes more effectively rather than listing them sequentially. Overall, the information is easy to follow, but the use of cohesive devices could be more varied and sophisticated to reach a higher band.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'dual carriageway', 'pedestrian only road', and 'efficiently utilized'. However, there are several spelling errors, such as 'conjestion' (congestion), 'facalities' (facilities), 'Similary' (Similarly), 'significatly' (significantly), 'pedestrain' (pedestrian), 'oppertunities' (opportunities), and 'conviniently' (conveniently). These errors are frequent enough to be noticeable. To improve, focus on accuracy in spelling and collocation. While your vocabulary is sufficient to convey the meaning, the high frequency of spelling mistakes limits the score in this criterion.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as 'As the traffic and population has increased significantly, the Islip town centre has become...'. However, there are several grammatical inaccuracies. For example, 'has become a too crowded' (should be 'has become too crowded'), 'a planned development plan was created' (redundant), and 'the traffic which was through a single path now has road respective to their destinations' (awkward phrasing). While these errors do not prevent the reader from understanding your points, they occur frequently enough to impact the overall fluency and accuracy of the writing.

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

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