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 diagram illustrates how the Islip town centre will change.Overall,the centre has undergone significant redevelopment,with many originall features being removed or replaced.Recreational and commercial facilities will be added including a dual carriageway.bus station,shopping centre,car park,new housing and a footpath.

Right now,the centre is around the countryside,but in the coming years there will be a dual carriageway surrounding the centre.The shops that are adjacent to the countryside,will be demolished to build a bus station, a shopping centre,a car park and a new housing in the east of the carriageway A footpath will be created in the place of main road for the pedestrians.

In the south of the town centre ,one housing will be inside the centre and the other will stand at the outer edge of the pathway.Moreover, a new housing scheme will also be introduced , which will face the park,although the school will remain at the same place.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response covers the main features of the maps, including the addition of the dual carriageway, the transformation of the shops into a bus station, shopping centre, and car park, and the pedestrianisation of the main road. The overview clearly highlights the significant redevelopment taking place in Islip. However, there are some minor descriptive inaccuracies regarding spatial relationships, such as stating the centre is 'around the countryside' or describing the new housing placement somewhat vaguely. Despite these slight lapses, all parts of the prompt are addressed adequately, providing a clear comparison between the current layout and the proposed plans.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The report exhibits a clear overall progression, moving logically from an introduction and overview to specific changes in the northern and southern sections of the town. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different areas of the map. However, cohesion is sometimes affected by mechanical errors in punctuation and spacing, such as missing spaces after commas (e.g., 'redevelopment,with', 'bus station,shopping centre'). Furthermore, some referencing and transitional links between sentences could be smoother to enhance the flow of information.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for describing map changes, such as 'redevelopment', 'demolished', 'pedestrians', and 'adjacent'. There are attempts to use less common vocabulary ('recreational and commercial facilities', 'dual carriageway'), but word choice and collocation are occasionally awkward, such as referring to 'originall features' (spelling error) or 'one housing will be inside the centre'. Vocabulary control is generally sufficient to convey meaning, though errors in spelling and collocation prevent a higher score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as future forms ('there will be a dual carriageway') and subordinate clauses ('The shops that are adjacent... will be demolished'). However, grammatical accuracy is hampered by frequent punctuation and spacing errors, missing articles (e.g., 'in east of the carriageway'), and occasional awkward phrasing ('one housing will be inside'). While these errors do not completely impede communication, they lower the overall precision and control of the writing.

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