Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-10-17

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 maps illustrate how Islip town centre looks now and the expected plans for its redevelopment.

Overall, the town will become more developed with new facilities for the community services and housing . Whereas , the park will be reduced in size and a main road is in the center of the shops that will be converted into dual carriageway and put in a circle around the whole town.

Now the town has a main road and several shops are located on both sides of the road , while the north of the main road a countryside in the back of the shops. Moreover, two housing societies one near the southern boundary and the other is in the center on the right hand of housing a big park that is linked with the main road and the left hand of the housing a school , while a road is on the western side that links the housing and school with the main road.

as for planned development,shops in southern side of the main road will be remained, although area of shops in northern side will be expended to countryside replaced with big shopping center , bus station and a car park and the main road replaced with street that only for pedestrians , followed by a new housing that will be linked with main road separately. Whereas the main road is expected to be a dual carriageway circular around the whole town . In contrast, the park will be reduced in size and new housing will be built alongside the park , while the southern boundary lined housing will remain the same and the central one will be moved to western side . The school's size will be slightly extended and linked with the main road.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You identify the main transformation and provide a clear overview: the town gains new facilities and housing, the park shrinks, and the central road becomes pedestrian-only while a dual carriageway loops around the centre. You also compare the northern and southern shop areas and mention the bus station, shopping centre and car park. This covers the task well, with some detail already approaching a fuller account. However, several points are inaccurate or unclear: the new housing is not described as linked to the main road, the school is not shown as enlarged or linked to it, and the central housing is replaced by new housing rather than simply moved west. Clarifying these changes and the locations of the new facilities would make the report more precise.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, a description of the current map and a paragraph on the plan. This gives the reader a generally coherent route through the information. However, progression within the longer paragraphs is sometimes difficult to follow, particularly the current-map sentence beginning “Moreover, two housing societies” and the planned-development sentence beginning “as for planned development”. Several ideas are joined into long chains, while “Whereas” and “In contrast” do not always express a clear contrast. Use shorter sentences and group details by location—for example, north of the pedestrian street, then south of it—to make the comparisons easier to track.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant map vocabulary, including “redevelopment”, “pedestrians”, “dual carriageway”, “reduced in size” and “southern boundary”. These choices show an attempt to describe changes rather than merely list labels. However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural, which sometimes makes the layout hard to understand: “housing societies” for residential areas, “in the back of the shops” for north of the shops, and “expended to countryside” for the planned expansion into that area. “Community services” is also vague for the specific facilities shown. Aim for precise location and change vocabulary, and check whether verbs such as “remain”, “replace” and “expand” fit the intended meaning.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt a range of sentence forms, including comparisons and clauses introduced by “while” and “although”. However, complex sentences are often not controlled successfully, and errors in sentence boundaries, articles, agreement and verb forms recur. For example, “while the north of the main road a countryside” lacks a complete grammatical structure, and “shops in southern side … will be remained” has incorrect article and passive construction. The sentence beginning “Moreover, two housing societies” also shifts between singular and plural structures. These problems sometimes make relationships between features unclear. Build accuracy with shorter, complete sentences first, then add subordinate clauses; check articles, subject–verb agreement and consistent future forms when describing the plan.

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