Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)

The Islip town centre is set to go under major redevelopment. The plan here shows the before and after of the endeavour.

The updated centre will have a dedicated ring road for the visitors to drive through, transforming the previous main road through the centre into a pedestrian-only walkway. The ring road is a dual carriageway to ensure smooth traffic and commute.

On the northwest corner, a bus station will be established, with accessibility to both the ring road and pedestrian walkway. To the same effect, on the existing row of shops will now have space for a car park and new housing units on the north-east corner. The other row of shops will remain as it is.

In a bid to increase housing units, additional structures will be constucted by shifting the park south-eastwards and constructing a new building on the land adjacent to it. Therefor, after development, residents will have 4 housing units in total - all accessible to the shopping centre, drivable roads and walkways.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the central changes clearly: the main road becomes pedestrian-only, a dual carriageway is added, and new transport, shopping and housing facilities are planned. However, some important details are omitted or imprecisely reported. The northern shops are replaced by a bus station, shopping centre and car park, but your account does not clearly identify the shopping centre’s position and says the car park and new housing occupy the former shops. The southern shops remain, while the park is reduced rather than simply shifted south-east. The claim that residents will have “4 housing units in total” is not supported by the map, which shows areas of housing rather than a count of units. A clearer overview and more accurate coverage of the southern and northern changes would make the summary more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response is arranged in a sensible sequence: it introduces the redevelopment, describes the road changes, then moves to facilities and housing. Paragraphing helps separate these stages, and phrases such as “On the northwest corner” guide the reader around the map. However, some links are mechanical or unclear. “To the same effect” does not accurately signal the relationship between the bus station and the changes to the shops, and “The other row of shops” leaves the reader to infer which row is meant. The final paragraph combines the park, new construction and a conclusion about housing without clearly distinguishing the locations. Use more precise spatial references and organise the description by north and south to strengthen progression.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use a reasonable range of topic vocabulary, including “redevelopment,” “ring road,” “pedestrian-only walkway” and “dual carriageway,” which makes the main changes understandable. Some less common expressions are attempted, but several are imprecise or unnatural for a map summary. “Go under major redevelopment” and “the endeavour” sound overly dramatic, while “smooth traffic and commute” is an awkward collocation. “New building” is too vague where the map identifies new housing, and “housing units” suggests a count not shown. There is also a spelling error in “constucted.” Prefer neutral, map-specific terms such as “is planned to be redeveloped,” “new housing” and “improve traffic flow,” and check spelling carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

You use a mix of simple and more complex sentence forms, and most of the meaning remains clear. For example, “The updated centre will have a dedicated ring road…” is a controlled future construction, while the sentence beginning “In a bid to increase housing units” attempts to express purpose and consequence. Some grammatical problems remain. In “on the existing row of shops will now have space,” the clause lacks a clear subject; revise it to “the northern row of shops will be replaced by…”. “Therefor” is a spelling issue rather than a grammar error, but the following sentence also makes an unsupported claim. The final sentence’s dash construction is awkward. More consistently complete clauses and clearer sentence boundaries would build on the control already shown.

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

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