Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-10-24

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 given map illustrates the infrastructure of central area of town named Islip at the moment, and how it might look after renovation.

Currently you can enter the town from west. There is main road that branch off to right and leads towards the school, but no clear path to go to housing and park which is further away. In future it is planned to make this path wider and turn into twoway road and extend this path till Eastern side of main road, all the way encircling the town. New residential sites will appear on it's both sides but park area will be reduced.

If you walk along the main road you'll see shops on both sides, with residential area on right side of shops and village to their left. In future, in place of shops on left side you'll find Bus station, shopping center and then car park and residental area (that will have a path to reach the road.) Meanwhile, right row of shops will stay but main road will be reserved for people on foot.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify several important changes, including the pedestrian-only central street, the new bus station, shopping centre and car park, and the reduction in park space. However, some key details are inaccurate or unclear: the existing main road is not described as a route that will be widened into a two-way road; the planned dual carriageway forms a loop around the centre. The current shops are on both sides of the main road, and the countryside lies north of the northern shops, rather than to the left of the housing. The overview is also limited: it would be stronger if it clearly summarised the main transformation and noted that the school remains outside the new loop. These omissions and misreadings leave parts of the map comparison underdeveloped.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall sequence: it introduces the maps, describes the road changes, and then compares the shops and surrounding land use. Paragraphing helps separate the current and planned features, and phrases such as “Currently” and “In future” guide the reader through the time contrast. This gives the account a coherent structure. However, some links between locations are difficult to follow, particularly “residential area on right side of shops and village to their left,” because the directions are not anchored clearly to the map. The repeated use of “path” also makes the road description less precise. To strengthen progression, organise the comparison by map area and use clear references such as north/south and east/west.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use a suitable range of map-related vocabulary, including “infrastructure,” “residential,” “encircling,” and “reduced,” and the main changes are generally understandable. There are also attempts to describe future development rather than simply list labels. However, some choices are imprecise or unnatural for this task: “renovation” suggests repair rather than planned redevelopment, “path” is used for roads, and “right row” is less exact than a directional description. Spelling errors such as “twoway” and “residental” also reduce accuracy. Aim for consistent, map-specific terms and check compound words and spelling; this will make the description more precise without requiring more elaborate vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and more complex sentence forms, including the conditional-style contrast in “in place of shops … you’ll find” and the relative clause “that will have a path to reach the road.” Most sentences communicate the intended changes, but some grammatical errors remain. For example, “There is main road” needs an article, and “the main road that branch off” has a subject–verb agreement error. The phrase “on it’s both sides” also has an incorrect possessive form and awkward word order. Tense and sentence construction are not always controlled consistently when moving between the present map and future plan. Review articles, agreement, possessives and punctuation, while keeping the useful variety of sentence structures you already attempt.

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

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