Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-10-08

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 diagram illustrates the layout of idlip town centre at present and future development,

Overall, the town has undergone significant transformation from simple shops to more diversified incoprporating encircled new facitities bus station and shoppng centre. Some feature are are remain unchanged and some are relocated.

At present, on the north side there were two shops in the main road. The park was situated in the north side of the town, on the opposite side the school was located with the link road on the south west side. Two housing facing each other on the north and south side.

In the future, the town has expended and encircled new amenities. The shops upper shops were completely replaced by the bus station, shopping centre, car park new housing in the north side. The main road wll be working for pedestrians, and middle shops remain retained. The park will be small in the south east ajacent to new housing. Housing remain unchanged and school will be out of dual carriaeway.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the main contrast between the current centre and the proposed redevelopment, including the replacement of the northern shops, the pedestrian-only street, the smaller park and the dual carriageway. The overview also notes that some features remain, which is relevant. However, several present-day locations are misreported: the park is east of the centre, not north, and the school is to the south rather than opposite the park. The description of the current shops and housing is also unclear, while the planned layout is compressed into a list and omits the bus station’s position relative to the shopping centre and car park. More precise comparisons of what stays, changes and moves would make the account more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and separate paragraphs for the present and planned layouts. This gives the reader a basic progression through the two maps, and time markers such as “At present” and “In the future” help distinguish them. However, some links and references are unclear. For example, “Two housing facing each other” does not make clear which areas are being compared, and “The shops upper shops” is difficult to follow. The overview’s “Some feature are are remain unchanged” also interrupts the flow. Use clearer topic sentences and refer to locations consistently, grouping features by north and south or by what changes and remains.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant map vocabulary, including “pedestrians,” “facilities,” “replaced,” “remain” and “dual carriageway,” so the reader can recognise the main development. However, spelling and word-choice errors are noticeable and sometimes make the description harder to understand: “idlip,” “incoprporating,” “facitities,” “shoppng” and “expended” appear in key sentences. Some phrases are also imprecise, such as “encircled new amenities” and “middle shops,” which do not clearly identify the planned road layout or the southern row of shops. Aim for accurate, conventional map terms and check spelling carefully. More precise location language, such as “to the north of” and “in the south-east,” would improve clarity.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt a mix of simple statements and longer sentences, and the present-versus-future contrast is generally understandable. However, errors in sentence structure, tense, agreement and articles occur in several places. For example, “Some feature are are remain unchanged” combines incompatible verb forms, while “The park was situated in the north side” has an incorrect preposition and does not clearly express the map’s location. “The main road wll be working for pedestrians” also uses an unsuitable construction for describing a planned change. Use consistent present tense for the existing map and “will be” or “will become” for the plan, and check subject–verb agreement and sentence boundaries. These corrections would make your comparisons easier to follow.

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

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