Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

The map illustrates the present and the future plan of Islip town.

Overall, right now the structure is quite larger with less amenities, In future plan, There are facilities like a new bus station at the top west is located, although there is no particular change with housing, shops and park.

At the moment, There's one entrance at the south and it is followed by housing. In addition, next to the housing there is a school is located. shops are located at the north side. In front of the shops a countryside is situated.

In future plan, The whole town is covered with roads, There is a new bus station at the top west, a new housing at the top east. Moreover, a new cark park area next to the shopping centre. Meanwhile, The shops are in the same place as in the past and also school with housing.

overall, There ae several major developments in the infrastructure like new amenities are introduced and some old are still there.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the maps as showing Islip now and in the future, and you mention several relevant changes, including the bus station, shopping centre, car park and new housing. However, the overview is unclear and includes an inaccurate claim that there is “no particular change” to housing, shops and the park: the northern shops are replaced, new housing is added, and the park is reduced. Some locations are also misreported; the entrance roads are not described as one southern entrance, and the school is not next to the housing in the present layout. To strengthen the response, summarise the main transformation accurately, including the pedestrian-only central street and the dual-carriageway loop, then compare the key features by location.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic overall structure, moving from an introduction and overview to descriptions of the present and planned layouts. This gives the reader some sense of progression, and phrases such as “At the moment” and “In future plan” signal the time contrast. However, the final paragraph repeats the overview rather than adding a clear concluding comparison, and several ideas are placed together without clear relationships. For example, “a new cark park area next to the shopping centre” is separated from the preceding description, while “Meanwhile” does not clearly introduce a contrast. Organise the body into a present-map paragraph and a planned-map paragraph, and use location-based links such as “to the north” and “whereas” more precisely.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant map vocabulary, including “amenities,” “housing,” “shopping centre,” and “infrastructure,” so the reader can identify the general subject. However, the range is limited and several choices are inaccurate or unnatural, which makes some details difficult to interpret. “The whole town is covered with roads” overstates the plan, while “one entrance at the south” does not describe the map accurately. There are also spelling and word-form slips such as “cark park” and “ae,” and repeated use of “new” and “located.” Aim for precise terms such as “dual-carriageway loop,” “pedestrian-only street,” and “shops are replaced by,” and vary location language to describe the map clearly.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and longer sentence forms, but control is inconsistent, particularly when combining clauses. For example, “next to the housing there is a school is located” contains two competing verb structures, and “a new bus station at the top west is located” has an awkward sentence pattern. Capitalisation and punctuation are also unreliable: “In future plan, There…” and “Overall” after a full stop disrupt sentence boundaries. Articles and agreement need attention in phrases such as “a new housing” and “the structure is quite larger.” Practise building clear subject–verb sentences, then add one subordinate clause where useful; check articles, comparative forms, and sentence punctuation during revision.

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