Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-10-01

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)

There is a lot of work is continuing in the small town to upgrade the Islip. The main perpose of the development is to structured the islip and developed it in to modern design.

First of all the old structure had only the one way road between the shops surrounded and in the south east side their is a large park which is not contected to the School which is located the opsite side of the islip, exact below the south west corner between school and park there is the housing colony that was wierd structured now plan is to upgrade this old structured in to the modern era.

Now the planed for modern islip is that we now have a carriageway arround the whole islip now the traffic issue is resoled through this we have shops in centre where indiviuals now walk through easily also we construct the bus station , shopping centre car parking and a new housing scheme which all of these are now contected to each other . the park and the school is now connected through a one way road quite easy for students to go to park , between school and park old housing and now we have new housing just corner of the park .

overall this is the development plan for the islip.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

The response addresses the task only partially. While the student attempts to describe the changes shown in the maps, the overview is very basic and lacks a clear summary of the main spatial transformations. Some ideas are limited and under-developed, relying on vague descriptions such as "a lot of work is continuing" instead of a precise comparative analysis of the before-and-after plans. Furthermore, the response includes inaccurate details and personal commentary that drift away from purely reporting the visual data, such as claiming the old structure was "wierd structured" or stating that traffic issues are now resolved. To move higher, the student must provide a clear, distinct overview of the main overall changes and report specific spatial relationships and modifications more accurately without personal speculation.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

There is some organisation in the response, but it lacks a clear overall progression. The essay is divided into a brief introduction, two body paragraphs attempting to describe the maps, and a short concluding sentence. However, the internal cohesion of the sentences is frequently faulty and mechanical. The student relies heavily on run-on sentences connected loosely by commas or conjunctions, such as "First of all the old structure had only the one way road between the shops surrounded and in the south east side their is a large park..." Reference words are sometimes unclear, and paragraphing is underdeveloped. To achieve a higher band, the writer needs to group related information logically into distinct paragraphs and use cohesive devices more accurately and naturally to guide the reader smoothly through the spatial comparison.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The lexical resource is limited but minimally adequate to convey a basic message. The vocabulary used is often repetitive and basic, relying on words like "structure", "housing", and "shop". There are noticeable spelling and word choice errors throughout the text, such as "perpose", "structured", "contected", "opsite", "wierd", and "planed", which detract from the quality of the writing and occasionally cause difficulty for the reader. The student attempts to use some less common vocabulary, such as "upgrage" or "carriageway", but lacks the precision required for natural collocation and form. To improve, the student should expand their working vocabulary for describing maps and town planning, paying closer attention to accurate word formation, spelling, and spelling patterns.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

The response demonstrates a very limited range of grammatical structures. The majority of the sentences are simple or poorly constructed compound sentences, and attempts at complex structures are frequently faulty. There are frequent errors in grammar, punctuation, and articles, such as missing capitalisation ("islip"), incorrect verb forms ("There is a lot of work is continuing", "is to structured"), and misuse of prepositions. For example, sentences like "now plan is to upgrade this old structured in to the modern era" lack necessary articles and contain agreement issues. The punctuation is also weak, with run-on sentences lacking proper terminal punctuation. To progress, the student needs to demonstrate better control over basic sentence boundaries, verb tense consistency, and the accurate use of grammatical patterns.

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

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