Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 4.5 · 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 4.5)
The maps illustrat the center os a small village called islip at it nowadays, and they pan for devlopment. the given planned devlopment.
overall, devlopment plant increased then before village town
it many devloped then and build new roads.
Islip twon centre now, main road is between shopes. it is north side show. after then devlopment planed roads are surround of village. it is many devlopment plan. now islip park is very large but after it is smalle then. in addition, now village car parking and bus station are not improve it but after they were planed devlopment it many facility their village. now shopes were two showed it but after palned that was mation it shopping mall.
it many diffrerent in shopping mall, park, bus station, car park, new houseing, pedestrina only and dual carrigeway. esspecially pedestrians between shop and above. bus station, dual carriageway and housing are show in west. then shoping centre, car parking show in north.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 4.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 4.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 4.0 |
| Overall | 4.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0
The response attempts to cover the task by identifying several changes between the current and planned maps of Islip, such as the introduction of a dual carriageway, a shopping centre, a bus station, and the pedestrianisation of the central road. However, the information is presented in a very disjointed and confusing manner. While some key features are mentioned—such as the park becoming smaller and the addition of new housing and a car park—the description lacks a clear, structured overview and fails to make systematic comparisons. The ideas are underdeveloped and the presentation of spatial relationships is often inaccurate or extremely difficult to follow, which corresponds to Band 5.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.0
The essay lacks a clear logical organisation and progression. There is an absence of proper paragraphing, with ideas jumbled together into a single block of text or broken haphazardly. Cohesive devices are either missing or misused (e.g., 'after then devlopment planed roads', 'in addition, now village car parking...'). The relationship between sentences is frequently unclear, making it hard for the reader to follow the spatial transitions from the current map to the planned development. Overall, the structural framework is inadequate, placing it firmly at Band 4.0.
Lexical Resource: Band 4.0
Lexical range and control are very limited. The student relies heavily on basic vocabulary and repeats words such as 'devlopment', 'now', 'after', and 'shopes' multiple times. There are numerous severe spelling errors ('illustrat', 'os', 'islip', 'pan', 'devlopment', 'smalle', 'houseing', 'pedestrina', 'carrigeway') and incorrect word forms ('showed', 'mation', 'facility'). While the student attempts to name specific features from the map (e.g., 'bus station', 'shopping centre', 'dual carriageway'), the high density of lexical and spelling errors impedes communication and restricts the score to Band 4.0.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.0
Grammatical control is extremely weak throughout the response. There is a near-total absence of accurate complex sentence structures, and even basic sentence construction is frequently flawed (e.g., 'The maps illustrat the center os a small village called islip at it nowadays, and they pan for devlopment.'). Errors in subject-verb agreement, tense usage ('is very large but after it is smalle then'), and word order are pervasive. Punctuation and capitalization are largely neglected. Because errors dominate and frequently distort meaning, the response meets the criteria for Band 4.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.