Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-09-18

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 maps show the information centre of a small town called Islip as it is now, and plans for its development.

Overall, it is evident that islip town will go through significant change over the next period . the most noticeable change will be the development of a bus station, a car park , a dual carriage , along with housing in the whole town centrer .

Firstly, there are shops at the northern countryside of the islip town center which the authority will demolish to expand a shhopping center , a bus station and a car park .in a similar way housing which is located at the core of the city centrle will be kncked down . one on the west south , a secound on the southeast corner and another on the northeast corner .

Morever, the mainroad between shops centrle whichis east to weat will be removed and renovatedfor pedestrians only . it is worth noticing that the road to west south will be school.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The student attempts to address the task by describing the main changes between the current map of Islip and the proposed development plans. An overview is provided in the second paragraph, noting that the town will undergo significant transformation, including a bus station, a car park, and a dual carriageway. However, there are several inaccuracies and confusing descriptions regarding specific locations, such as claiming that 'housing which is located at the core of the city centre will be knocked down' and misinterpreting the position of the school and the surrounding areas. The details are sometimes vague or incorrectly transcribed from the visual data, placing the response at a Band 5 level.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The response shows an attempt to structure the information using sequencing devices such as 'Overall', 'Firstly', and 'Morever'. However, the paragraphing is poor, with paragraph breaks appearing mid-sentence or lacking clear thematic unity (e.g., lower-case letters starting sentences and misplaced punctuation). The overall progression of ideas is disrupted by unclear referencing and confusing spatial relationships between sentences. Cohesive devices are used mechanically or inaccurately, leading to a choppy and sometimes difficult-to-follow structure, aligning with Band 5 descriptors.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The student uses a limited vocabulary with noticeable spelling and word-choice errors that occasionally cause difficulty for the reader. Examples include 'islip' and 'centrer' (centre), 'carriage' (carriageway), 'shhopping' (shopping), 'centrle' (centre), 'kncked' (knocked), 'secound' (second), 'Morever' (Moreover), 'mainroad' (main road), and 'weat' (west). While some task-specific vocabulary is attempted (e.g., 'demolish', 'pedestrians'), the persistent spelling mistakes and inaccurate collocations restrict the score to Band 5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The grammatical range is quite limited, relying mostly on simple and flawed complex structures. Punctuation and capitalization are poorly controlled, with sentences frequently beginning with lower-case letters and containing random spaces before punctuation marks (e.g., 'car park , a dual carriage ,'). There are frequent errors in basic sentence construction, agreement, and preposition usage, such as 'at the northern countryside' and 'between shops centrle whichis east to weat'. These frequent errors hinder readability and place the performance firmly at Band 5.

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

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