Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-10-18

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)

Introduction:-

The map illustrates the center of Islip, a small town, depicting its current existence alongside a development plan of it.

Currently, the center of islip town is located on a countryside, therefore does not have much development of insfrastructure for now. It appears that the current existence of islip town center must have been quite peaceful where so many concrete houses have not been made yet. The population appears to be comparatively less residing in the current islip town to its planned development where a major portion of area is planned to be developed for new housing to make it more puplated though. The development plan includes a more organized, well planned circular layout dividing major entities around, especially giving a pedestrians pathway in the center as well. The car parking, shopping center and bus station are the key plans to be developed in the new islip town center to be developed.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the two maps as showing Islip now and after development, and you mention several genuine planned features: the pedestrian route, bus station, shopping centre and car park. However, the response only partially reports the map information. It gives little account of the existing layout, such as the east–west main road, shops on both sides, housing, school and park. The overview also relies on unsupported claims about the town being peaceful, having a smaller population, and lacking development; the maps do not provide evidence for these conclusions. To strengthen the response, describe the main spatial changes accurately, including the dual-carriageway loop, the replacement of northern shops, and the retained or altered southern areas.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

The response has a basic progression from an introduction to current conditions and then planned changes, and phrases such as “Currently” and “The development plan includes” help signal the topic. However, the ideas are crowded into one long paragraph after the introduction, so the comparison between the two maps is difficult to follow. Several points are repeated, particularly the description of the “current existence” and the planned development. The relationship between claims is also sometimes unclear: for example, the statement about the town being on countryside does not lead clearly into the claims about population and housing. Use separate paragraphs for an overview and for key changes, and group details by location or by what is retained, removed and added.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant vocabulary for describing plans, including “pedestrians pathway,” “circular layout,” “shopping center” and “bus station.” This gives the response a basic range suited to the topic. However, several choices are imprecise or unnatural, such as “current existence,” “concrete houses,” and “major entities around,” which make the map description less clear. There are also spelling and form errors, including “insfrastructure” and “puplated,” and inconsistent capitalization of “Islip.” Aim for precise map vocabulary and natural collocations: for example, describe facilities as being “located” or “replaced,” and refer to “residential areas” rather than making assumptions about the population.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response attempts both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a relative clause in “where so many concrete houses have not been made yet” and a contrast introduced by “though.” The main meaning is generally recoverable, but some sentence structures are awkward or incomplete. For example, “Currently, the center of islip town is located on a countryside, therefore does not have much development” lacks a clear subject for “does not have,” and the comma splice before “therefore” needs restructuring. The phrase “where so many concrete houses have not been made yet” also does not fit the intended meaning clearly. Use complete clauses and check articles, capitalization and punctuation when joining ideas.

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