Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · 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 4.5)

Islip town illustrates the current map of town center and planed town center.

at the moment the Islip town center shows the shops in both sides of main road

in the south the school and park are located.

on the other hand when we look at the planed development of town center the bus station shopping center and car parking area have been settled along with new housing society.

and the main road has alligned for the pedestrian only and on south direction the space for shops has been allocted

also the town center has been covered by great wall through out which covers every side of the centre.

it also contains dual carriage way on west of centre further in the south of centre a school and park has been designed

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0

You identify the two maps as showing the present town centre and a planned development, and mention several relevant changes, including the bus station, shopping centre, car park and pedestrian-only street. However, the response gives only a limited account of the main features and lacks a clear overview of how the centre will be reorganised. Some details are inaccurate: the park is not simply in the south in the current map, and the planned dual carriageway forms a loop around the centre rather than being only to its west. The school remains south of the loop, while the park is reduced and remains inside it. The phrase “great wall” also misrepresents the carriageway. The response is 18 words below the required minimum, which further limits the detail provided.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.0

There is a basic attempt to separate the current layout from the planned one, using phrases such as “at the moment” and “on the other hand.” This gives the reader some sense of comparison. However, the ideas are not arranged in a clear, consistent progression: the current map is described briefly, then the plan is discussed in a loosely connected sequence, and the final details about the carriageway and school are difficult to relate to the earlier points. Paragraphing is also limited, and some linking phrases do not clearly show the relationship between ideas. Organise the response into an introduction, an overview, and two focused paragraphs comparing the northern and southern areas; use location-based links such as “to the north” and “by contrast.”

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant map vocabulary, including “shops,” “main road,” “bus station,” “shopping center,” and “dual carriage way,” so the reader can recognise several features. However, the range is limited and some choices are inaccurate or unnatural, which can make the layout hard to understand. For example, “great wall” is not an appropriate description of a dual carriageway, and “housing society” does not clearly describe the new housing area. There are also spelling errors in “planed,” “alligned,” and “allocted.” Aim for precise terms for map features and changes, such as “is replaced by,” “is retained,” and “a loop road surrounds the centre.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

The response mainly uses short, simple statements, with a few attempts to connect ideas, such as “when we look at the planned development.” This limited range makes it difficult to express comparisons and changes precisely. Errors occur frequently in sentence construction and punctuation: “at the moment the Islip town center shows…” lacks appropriate capitalisation, while “the bus station shopping center and car parking area have been settled” has an unclear structure and an unsuitable verb pattern. The final sentence also joins several ideas without clear punctuation. Practise accurate present-simple descriptions and passive forms, for example, “The northern shops are replaced by a bus station, a shopping centre and a car park.” Use full stops to separate distinct map features.

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