Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-09-13
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 illustrate the alter in centre of a small settlement known as Islip as it is in a current situation, and plans for its development. Moreover, many spaces are constructed to demonstrate its modification.
overall, there is a numerous changes in islip town centre. Starting from dual carriageway and ending to new housing. Main road shift to pedestrians road only. School occupy its space at same point after development.
on the top of the north side there is seven shops available, but after development shops is change to bus station,shopping centre,car parking and new housing. There is also a development in new dual carriageway which passes through school and housing.
Main road is change to pedestrians road only. At the centre of Islip town shops is at their same position as it is before development. Housing changes its position as it is in vertical position before development and modify housing as one at bottom of the Islip and another at west-south side, near to school.
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 student attempts to address the task by comparing the current and proposed future maps of Islip. Key features such as the shops, housing, the dual carriageway, and the pedestrianised main road are mentioned. However, the overview lacks clarity and fails to highlight the most salient overarching trends, such as the major expansion of residential zones and the reorganisation of transport links. Furthermore, descriptions are sometimes confusing or contradictory, such as stating that 'shops is at their same position' while also mentioning that the northern shops are removed. The response covers the basic parts of the prompt but suffers from under-developed and sometimes inaccurate reporting of the visual data. This places the response firmly in band 5.0.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0
The text is divided into short paragraphs, including a brief introduction and an overview paragraph, though the paragraphing is rudimentary. Cohesive devices are minimal and sometimes inaccurate, such as 'Starting from dual carriageway and ending to new housing' and 'on the top of the north side'. Logical progression is weak, and the sequence of ideas within paragraphs jumps somewhat randomly between different locations on the map. Referencing is also unclear in places, making it difficult to follow the spatial comparisons being made. Overall, the organisation shows some structure, but overall progression is lacking, which corresponds to a band 5.0.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is very basic and repetitive. The student relies heavily on words directly lifted from the prompt or simple functional terms, such as 'map', 'centre', 'small settlement', 'shops', and 'housing'. There are notable word-choice errors and awkward collocations, such as 'the map illustrate the alter' instead of 'illustrates the alteration', and 'pedestrians road only' instead of 'pedestrianised road'. Less common lexical items are largely absent or misused. While the vocabulary is minimally adequate to convey the basic topic, the limitations and errors restrict the score to a band 5.0.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The student demonstrates a very limited range of grammatical structures. Most sentences are simple or poorly constructed attempts at complex forms that result in heavy errors. There are frequent basic grammatical mistakes throughout the text, including subject-verb agreement errors ('the map illustrate', 'shops is', 'Housing changes'), missing articles ('in current situation'), and incorrect prepositions ('at the top of the north side'). Punctuation is also neglected, with lowercase letters starting sentences. These frequent errors cause noticeable difficulty for the reader and reflect the descriptors for a band 4.5, rounded to 5.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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