Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-09-28

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 displays the centre of a small town called islip town centre as it is now, and plan for its changes in the future.

Overall, it it is noticed that roads will be extended, and new shops added also a new housing will built in the future.

Firstly, it is noticed that main road built around the town centre. The road was dual carriageway. Moreover, a new bus station added on the north-west corner and on the right side of station a shopping centre introduced. Furthermore, new housing built on north-west corner and also at below the shops. However, a previous housing transferred in front of school and on other side of road in the front side of new housing.

Secondly, on the north side of shops a road built for pedestarian only and a car park between shopping centre and new housing. However, park space was reduced and school was increased a little bit.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

The student attempts to address the prompt by describing the changes between the current and planned maps of Islip town centre, including the new dual carriageway, pedestrianised street, and repositioned facilities. However, there are notable misinterpretations of the visual data. For example, the student states that the school was increased a little bit, whereas the maps show the school remains largely unchanged and outside the new ring road. Furthermore, the description of housing changes is confusing and imprecise. While an overview is attempted, key features such as the replacement of shops with a bus station, shopping centre, and car park are not clearly contrasted. This places the response in Band 5.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The text is divided into an introduction and two body paragraphs, attempting a logical structure. However, the progression of ideas is often unclear due to mechanical and repetitive cohesive devices, such as the overuse of 'noticed that' and 'however'. Referencing is sometimes confusing, as seen in sentences like 'a previous housing transferred in front of school'. Paragraphing is present, but internal cohesion lacks smooth transitions, making the relationships between the features difficult to follow. This aligns with a Band 5 performance.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is relatively basic and repetitive, with frequent reliance on simple terms like 'road', 'shops', and 'housing'. There are noticeable lexical inaccuracies and awkward phrasing, such as 'pedestarian only', 'at below the shops', and 'park space was reduced and school was increased'. While the student attempts some less common terms like 'dual carriageway', 'bus station', and 'shopping centre' taken directly from the prompt, the limited range and word choice errors cause some difficulty for the reader, placing this criterion at Band 5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The student exhibits a limited range of grammatical structures, relying heavily on passive and simple descriptive constructions. There are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text, including missing articles ('a new housing will built'), incorrect verb forms ('will built', 'road built', 'bus station added' without verbs), and prepositional errors ('on the north-west corner'). These errors frequently disrupt the flow and sometimes obscure the intended meaning. Complex sentences are attempted but are generally faulty. This corresponds to a Band 5 score.

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

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