Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

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

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 demonstrates the changes of a small town called Islip, before and, after its development.

Overall, a significant number of changes have done such as, shopes are shifted in the center area, and many new blocks are constructed in this town. While, in the dual carriageway a new housing scheme is introduced.

Moving to details, the outer shop area is converted into bus station, shopping center, car park whearas, in the east side a new hosing society is bulit. Moreover, the main road is preserved for pedestrains.The middle shops and park are remained same place as this before development. In the south side, the old housing scheme is shifted into the west and, near the park a new housing community is developed which is consider a dual carriage way. Around the whole center a road is constructed. However outside the road the school and houses are remained at same place as before.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the main contrast between the existing town centre and the proposed redevelopment, including the pedestrianised central street, new facilities north of it, a surrounding road, and the school and housing remaining outside that road. These are relevant features and give the response a clear overall focus. However, some details are inaccurate or unclear: the southern shops and park do not both remain unchanged, since the park is reduced, and the new housing is not “consider[ed] a dual carriage way.” The description of the southern area as housing being “shifted into the west” also needs clarification. To strengthen the summary, report the main north-to-south changes more precisely and distinguish the new housing from the dual carriageway.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic progression from an introduction and overview to details, and expressions such as “Overall,” “Moving to details,” and “Moreover” help signal stages in the description. The reader can generally follow the broad changes. However, the overview and detail paragraph are not clearly separated, and several ideas are crowded into long sentences, making relationships between locations difficult to track. For example, the sentence beginning “In the south side” combines the old housing, new housing, park, and carriageway without clearly explaining their positions. Some linking words, including “While” and “However,” do not establish a clear contrast. Use separate paragraphs for the overview and key areas, and organise details consistently by location.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some task-relevant vocabulary, including “bus station,” “shopping center,” “car park,” “pedestrians,” and “dual carriageway,” which helps convey the planned facilities. However, the range is limited and several word-choice, collocation, and spelling errors reduce precision. Phrases such as “outer shop area,” “new hosing society,” and “new housing community” are not natural descriptions of the map’s land uses; “housing development” would be clearer. There are also noticeable misspellings, including “shopes,” “whearas,” “bulit,” and “pedestrains.” Aim for accurate map vocabulary and check spelling carefully. Repeating “new” and “area” less often would also make the description more precise.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt a mixture of simple and more complex sentences, including a contrast introduced by “While” and a sentence beginning “However.” This shows some range, but control is inconsistent, and errors sometimes make relationships between features unclear. Examples include “changes have done,” where the passive form is needed, and “the park are remained,” which has incorrect agreement and verb construction. “The main road is preserved for pedestrians” also uses a tense and structure that do not clearly describe the planned change. Punctuation is sometimes misplaced, as in “before and, after” and “such as, shopes.” Practise accurate passive forms for planned changes and use shorter, complete sentences when describing several locations.

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

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