Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-09-22
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)
The two diagrams illustrate the development of islip town centre in the future.
Overall , islip town centre will undergo significant changes with many orignal features being removed or replaced with the addition of bus station , dual carriageway , pedestrian street , car park.
It is quite evident that in north side there are many shops and main road for traffic alonmg with countryside which will be converted into bus station , shopping centre ,car park to facilitate the citizen. Meanwhile , housing society will also be constructed and a footpath for the use of pedestrians. A dual carriageway will also be added for smooth traffic flow.
Turning to the south side , shops will stood at their place and new housing society will be a new addition . Meanwhile , housing is at the center which will be shifted western side and a park will be at eastern side for enjoyment. There will be no chnage in school and houseing they will remain newar the carriageway.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0
The student covers all parts of the task well, providing both an overview and a comparison of the current town centre with the planned developments. Major changes such as the introduction of the dual carriageway, pedestrianised street, bus station, shopping centre, and new housing areas are correctly identified and contrasted with the original features like the main road, countryside, and previous shops. An overview is successfully presented in the second paragraph, highlighting the general transformation. However, some specific details regarding spatial relationships could be more precisely reported, such as noting that the school and some housing remain outside the southern loop. Overall, the response fulfills the requirements of Task Achievement well, earning a solid Band 6.5.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The text is organized into four logical paragraphs, moving from an introduction to an overview, and then detailing the northern and southern changes respectively. Cohesive devices such as 'Meanwhile', 'Turning to the south side', and 'It is quite evident' are used to guide the reader through the maps. However, paragraphing could be slightly refined, and referencing is occasionally mechanical or clumsy, such as 'will stood at their place' and 'houseing they will remain'. Progression is generally clear, but transitional flow between sentences can be disjointed at times. Coherence and Cohesion fit comfortably into the Band 6 descriptor.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student attempts an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for describing maps and town planning, utilizing terms like 'dual carriageway', 'pedestrian street', 'housing society', and 'development'. However, there are noticeable lexical and spelling inaccuracies throughout the text, including 'islip' (capitalisation error), 'orignal' (spelling), 'alonmg', 'chnage', and 'houseing'. Furthermore, word choices like 'housing society' are slightly unnatural in this context compared to standard British or international English mapping terms. The range is sufficient for the task, but errors in word formation and spelling limit the score to a Band 6.0.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The student demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, incorporating future tense structures ('will be converted', 'will also be added') to describe the planned developments. However, grammatical errors are frequent and occasionally affect clarity. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues ('shops will stood at their place'), awkward phrasing ('housing is at the center which will be shifted western side'), and punctuation slips like missing commas and unnecessary spaces before punctuation marks. While complex structures are attempted, errors in tense, preposition usage, and sentence construction place this response firmly at Band 5.5.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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