Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-10-05

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 6.0)

The given two maps illustrates the current layout of the town centre of Islip and praposed future development plans for the area.

Overall, the town centre is set to undergo a major transformation, shifting from a simple linear road system with basic amenities to a more comprehensive, pedestrains friendly ring road layout with expanded housing and public facilities.

Looking at the current map, Islip town current features a straight main road running from west to east, bordered by shops on both northern and southern area. The northern edge open to the countryside, while the southern area consists of housing, a small park on the east, and a school in the southwest connected by curved access road.

In the planned development, the straight main road will be replaced by a large circular dual carraigeway that loops around the entire town centre. New facilities for the peoples is added, bus station,shopping centre and car parking area at northern area of the town. Meanwhile, the pedestrians walking path is introduced in the centre of the town, which is converted from main road. At southern region of the town, new housing is builted up for the residential peoples, with a parking facility. Following at the northeastern corner a new housing is also built up, replacing the former countryside.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response successfully addresses all parts of the task by providing a clear overview and detailing the main features of Islip town centre now and in its planned development. Key transformations, such as the introduction of the dual carriageway loop, the pedestrianised central street, and the new commercial and residential zones, are accurately reported. However, some areas of the response are slightly under-developed or lack specific detail when compared to the visual data. For instance, the description of the new facilities could have elaborated more on their precise arrangement relative to one another. Despite this minor imbalance, the overall selection of features is well-chosen, demonstrating a clear grasp of the visual information and fulfilling the criteria for a solid performance with some elements of higher-level development.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a logical progression of information from the current map to the future development plan. The response is divided into appropriate paragraphs, starting with an introduction and a clear overall summary, followed by body paragraphs dedicated to each map. Cohesive devices such as 'Overall', 'Looking at the current map', and 'In the planned development' are used to guide the reader through the comparison. However, cohesion is occasionally mechanical or slightly faulty, such as in the referencing and transition between sentences in the final paragraph. Pronoun referencing and signposting are generally adequate, but achieving a higher band would require smoother, more natural integration of cohesive links without relying on formulaic transitions.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common and topic-specific items such as 'transformation', 'pedestrianised', and 'dual carriageway'. However, there are several word choice, word form, and spelling errors throughout the text, including 'illustrates' combined with a plural subject ('maps'), 'praposed', 'pedestrains', 'carraigeway', 'peoples', and 'builted up'. While these lexical inaccuracies do not impede communication, they highlight a lack of precision and control over word forms and spelling. To reach a higher band, the vocabulary needs to be used with greater accuracy, showing consistent control over less common lexical items and collocations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The writing exhibits a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating attempts to use relative clauses and participial phrases, such as 'running from west to east' and 'which is converted from main road'. However, there are frequent errors in grammar, articles, and punctuation, including missing articles ('the northern edge open', 'on east', 'at northern area'), incorrect verb forms ('is added', 'is introduced', 'is builted up'), and faulty prepositions ('Following at the northeastern corner'). These errors reflect the characteristics of a developing grammatical range where complex structures often contain flaws. While communication is rarely impeded, a higher band requires a greater proportion of error-free sentences and tighter control over basic agreement and article usage.

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

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