Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)
The map provides an information about a town's current plan and a upcoming development plan of it with some major changes within the city. Overall, the map was planned with major develpment of islip city. Main road was constructed has a ring road and in side the main road all the shops, parks were included as well as new features are added such as bus station, car parking, new housing. While school and a housing features remains unchanged in the south side.
To begin with,according to the plan development map, old road will be demolished and a longer ring-road can be constructed. While in the northern part a bus station is located at north-west corner and new housing at notrth-east corner is located with a connecting road, others such as shopping center and car parking are contructed between them. Furthermore, School and one housing feature will remains unchanged at south side which are located outisde of road.
By contrast, multiple shops are constructed at the center of ring road from east to west. Moreover,s size of the park was decreased and it is at south east corner which is close to road and beside ta new housing was planned to construct.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The student attempts to address the prompt by describing the changes shown in the maps of Islip town centre. An overview is provided, noting the main developments such as the ring road, new facilities, and unchanged areas. However, there are some inaccuracies in reporting specific features; for instance, the text refers to a 'ring road', whereas the visual data clearly depicts a 'dual carriageway' forming a loop. Furthermore, the description of the southern area contains some confusion regarding the layout of the park and housing. Despite these minor misreadings and a somewhat disjointed narrative, the response successfully covers the main features and makes relevant comparisons, aligning with a Band 5.5 descriptor.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0
The response is organised into three paragraphs, including an introduction and overview, followed by two body paragraphs detailing specific changes. However, the logical progression is occasionally hindered by abrupt transitions and mechanical cohesive devices, such as 'To begin with,' and 'By contrast,' which are not always used in the correct context. Referencing is sometimes unclear, particularly with pronouns and spatial markers like 'others such as shopping center and car parking are contructed between them'. Paragraphing is attempted, but internal cohesion requires better linking to ensure a smoother flow of information.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some topic-specific terms like 'demolished', 'construction', and 'pedestrian'. However, there are noticeable spelling and word-choice errors, such as 'develpment', 'notrth-east', 'contructed', and 'has a ring road' instead of 'as a ring road'. Some expressions are unnatural or repetitive, which restricts the lexical score to a Band 5.0.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as 'While in the northern part a bus station is located at north-west corner and new housing at notrth-east corner is located with a connecting road'. However, control over grammar and punctuation is inconsistent, leading to frequent errors including missing articles, incorrect prepositions, and awkward verb tenses (e.g., 'the map provides an information', 'old road will be demolished and a longer ring-road can be constructed'). These errors occasionally cause difficulty for the reader.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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