Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-09-12
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 5.0)
The map illustrates the current picture of centre of a town known as Islip and plans for its future development.
As we can see in the current picture there is a mainroad having shops on both of its sides while in the planned development there is a dual carraigeway.
In the current map there is a mainroad which is surrounded by shops in North and South while in the planned development the road is replaced by dual carraigeway and there is a separate lane for shops only in the south whereas in North there isa new road which is only for pedestrians and after that the area was separately divided into bus station shopping center car park and new housing.
Now in the south there are only housing which are now planned to replaced by a new housing along with older housing .The school and park are on the same location in both the maps
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The response attempts to cover the main features of the maps comparing the current layout of Islip and the proposed developments. You successfully identify several key transformations, such as the replacement of the main road with a dual carriageway, the pedestrianisation of the northern area, and the addition of facilities like a bus station, shopping centre, and car park. However, the overview is rather fragmented, and some details are imprecise or slightly confused, such as the description of the housing changes in the south. The information presented is limited and somewhat under-developed, lacking a clear, cohesive overview paragraph that summarises the overarching trends of the urban changes. Therefore, this performance aligns closely with Band 5.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0
The text suffers from a lack of proper paragraphing, presented mostly as a single block of text with minimal separation, which severely impacts the overall organisation and visual structure expected in an Academic Task 1 response. Cohesive devices are weak and repetitive, relying heavily on simple connectors like 'while' and 'and'. The progression of ideas is difficult to follow because sentences run into one another without adequate punctuation or logical transitions between the current layout and future plans. For example, sentences such as 'In the current map there is a mainroad which is surrounded by shops...' become excessively long and convoluted. Consequently, the cohesion is inadequate and repetitive, meriting a Band 4.5 score, rounded to 5.0.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is quite basic and repetitive throughout the text. Phrases such as 'current picture', 'mainroad', 'shops', and 'housing' are repeated frequently without much variation. There are also spelling errors ('carraigeway' instead of carriageway) and spacing issues ('isa' instead of 'is a'). While the student attempts to use some less common terms related to urban planning like 'pedestrians', 'dual carriageway', and 'car park', the overall lexical range remains limited and minimally adequate for the task. Because the noticeable errors and restricted range occasionally cause confusion for the reader, this warrants a Band 5.0.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The grammatical structures employed are predominantly simple or poorly controlled complex sentences. Many sentences lack necessary punctuation, resulting in run-on structures that make reading laboured, such as '...and after that the area was separately divided into bus station shopping center car park and new housing.' There are frequent errors in articles, prepositions, and verb tenses, including tense inconsistencies when describing future plans (e.g., 'are now planned to replaced'). The range of structures is limited, and attempts at longer sentences often become faulty. These frequent errors correspond to a Band 5 for grammatical range and accuracy.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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