Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-10-07

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 map illustrates the development plans for a town centre located in Islip.

Overall, there are quite a few changes with the structure of the town centre. Mainly the integration of the new bus station, a shopping centre, a parking lot, and some new housings. A dual carriageway is also going to be introduced for easy commute.

The Islip town centre right now have few shops and a main road with school on the west and park on the far east connected to it. There are also some housings scattered around.

With the new plan, a bus station will be introduced along with a shopping centre with its own parking lot all right next to each other. There will be a single line of shops and a pedestrians only footpath. A dual carriageway will also be introduced that will wrap around the whole town centre with an exit on the far east. A new housing society will be introduced that will be directly connected with the new dual carriageway which is going to be located on the east of the car park. A park will be constructed next to the new housing for the community.

School and old housing will be located at the original location and will not be relocated. They are outside of the dual carriageway all the way to the south.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You identify the main transformation clearly: the introduction of a bus station, shopping centre, car park and dual carriageway, alongside pedestrianisation of the central street. The overview also captures the broad scale of redevelopment, and several locations are reported accurately, including the school and southern housing remaining outside the loop. This meets the task well, with some features described in useful detail. To make the account more complete and precise, clarify that the bus station, shopping centre and car park replace the northern shops, and describe the southern area more fully: existing housing remains to the west, new housing is added in the middle, and the park is reduced in size. The claim that the park is “constructed” is misleading because a park already exists.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, an overview, a description of the current map and a paragraph on the proposed plan. This makes the comparison easy to follow, and phrases such as “With the new plan” signal the shift between stages. However, some linking and reference are mechanical or imprecise. For example, “They are outside of the dual carriageway” follows a sentence about both the school and old housing, but the map places the school and southern housing outside the loop; the reference could be clearer. The overview also reads as a list of additions rather than a connected summary. Grouping changes by north and south, and using clearer contrasts such as “whereas” or “while,” would create smoother progression and stronger cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of map-related vocabulary, including “dual carriageway,” “pedestrians only,” “located,” and “connected,” and the reader can understand the main changes. There are also attempts at more specific phrasing, such as “wrap around the whole town centre.” Some choices are informal or imprecise for an academic map report: “parking lot” is less suitable than “car park” here, “new housings” is not the natural form, and “housing society” does not accurately describe the mapped area. “Constructed” also suggests a wholly new park, although the existing park is retained in a smaller form. Prefer the map’s labels where appropriate and use precise terms such as “residential area” or “new housing” to improve accuracy and register.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and more complex sentence forms, including the relative clause in “a new housing society … which is going to be located on the east of the car park.” Most sentences communicate the intended changes, but some grammatical errors remain. For example, “The Islip town centre right now have” has subject–verb disagreement and an awkward time expression; “There are also some housings” has an incorrect plural form; and “a pedestrians only footpath” has an article and number problem. The sentence beginning “Mainly the integration…” is a fragment rather than a complete sentence. Review agreement, articles and sentence completeness, and use a consistent future form for planned changes. These corrections would make the report more controlled without requiring more complicated structures.

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