Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-10-14

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 depictshow a small town called Islip will look now and after the development

Overall, the town underwent significant changes over the period.While several area of the town was replaced , expanded , and redesigned.whereas multiple new facilities were added after the transformation the town will look more modern , well quiped and larger.

Initially the town consisted of countryside.on the east side of the town there was a park which was connected with the main road while west side contained school.in the middle of the town there was shops opposite to it was housing.after the redevelopment of the town the main road was coverted to dual carriage way sorrounding the whole town and was expanded towards the countryside.whereas multiple new facilities were added.new bus station was constructed on the west northen side of the town .followed by a construction of a new shopping center and a car park.However main road was converted as a padestrians only zone.In addition several new housing was added. meanwhile park size was decreased after the development and school size was expanded a bit.By the end of the period, the area had become more modern and better equipped

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You identify the broad contrast between the existing town and its planned redevelopment, and you report several key changes: the central road becomes pedestrian-only, a dual carriageway is added, and a bus station, shopping centre and car park replace the northern shops. You also note the smaller park and new housing. This covers the main purpose of the maps and shows some selection of relevant features. However, some details are inaccurate or unclear: the school is to the south, not on the west side, and the countryside is north of the shops rather than the town’s initial overall feature. The claim that the school expanded is not supported. To strengthen the response further, describe the retained southern shops and the school and housing remaining outside the loop, and make the overview more precise about the main spatial changes.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable overall sequence: an opening, a general overview, a description of the current layout and then the planned changes. This gives the reader a basic route through the information. However, progression is weakened by abrupt links and unclear sentence boundaries, as in “whereas multiple new facilities were added” and “However main road was converted.” Several ideas are crowded into long strings, while full stops and commas are often missing or misplaced. The repeated use of “after the development” and “whereas” also makes connections feel mechanical rather than precise. Use separate paragraphs for the overview and the two map stages, and connect each change explicitly to its location or to the feature it replaces.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant map vocabulary, including “dual carriageway,” “pedestrians only,” “facilities,” “redevelopment” and “housing,” which helps communicate the broad transformation. There is also an attempt to vary wording with “constructed,” “added” and “converted.” However, spelling and word-choice errors are noticeable and sometimes make the description less clear, for example “quipped,” “sorrounding,” “padestrians” and “coverted.” Some phrases are imprecise or unnatural, such as “the town will look more modern” and “school size was expanded.” Aim for accurate, conventional map language and check spelling carefully. More precise terms such as “north of,” “retained,” “replaced by” and “reduced in size” would help distinguish locations and changes.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including contrast and time clauses, and the reader can generally understand the intended comparison. However, control is inconsistent: “the map depictshow” has a missing space and incorrect verb form, while “several area … was replaced” shows problems with plural agreement. Articles and sentence construction are also unreliable in phrases such as “new bus station was constructed” and “opposite to it was housing.” Some clauses are joined without clear punctuation, and the tense shifts between past forms (“underwent”) and future forms (“will look”) even though the maps compare the present with a plan. Use present tense for the existing map and future or planned forms consistently for proposed changes, and check agreement, articles and sentence boundaries.

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