Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-10-26

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)

Maps illustrate the details of Islip town project. At this moment, it has a structure but authority made a plan for development and make it more attractive for people.

Now it has shops in north, main road and opposite side also has shops. Besides that, in the east has a park. South and middle side fill up with housing. School situated besides the hosuing.

Future plan map has several changes. They will give the whole north side for bus station, shopping center, car park and new housing. In the center, they selected for pedesriants and shops. In the east, they set for park. School and housing will be situated at the south side. At the west, they will make another housing. Dual carriageway will be the all sides of this plan.

Overall, they want the major changes inside of this map. They will break the shops and will make bus station, shopping center and park at this place. They will keep school at the same place. The major change is that dual carriageway. It will help them to transportation.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the two maps as showing the town now and after development, and you mention several important changes, including the pedestrianised central street, new transport and shopping facilities, and the dual carriageway. However, some key details are inaccurate or too general. The northern shops are replaced by a bus station, shopping centre and car park, not by those facilities plus new housing; the new housing is in the northeast and south-central areas. The southern shops remain, and the park is reduced rather than simply set aside in the east. Your overview also says the shops will be broken and a park made in their place, which misrepresents the plan. Report the main changes more precisely and distinguish what remains from what is replaced.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall arrangement: it describes the current map, then the proposed plan, and ends with an overview. This makes the comparison easy to follow at a basic level. Linking phrases such as “Besides that,” “Future plan map” and “Overall” help signal progression, although some transitions are mechanical and the overview repeats points already made without adding a clear synthesis. References such as “this place,” “the east” and “the south side” are sometimes vague, making it difficult to identify exactly which areas you mean. Grouping changes by location—for example, north of the pedestrian street, south of it, and outside the carriageway—would create a more precise and connected account.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant map vocabulary, including “bus station,” “shopping center,” “housing,” “school” and “dual carriageway,” so the reader can understand the general subject. However, the range is limited and several expressions are inaccurate or unnatural for describing plans. “They will give the whole north side for” and “they selected for pedesriants” do not express the intended changes clearly; “allocate the northern area to” and “make the central street pedestrian-only” would be more suitable. There are also spelling errors, including “hosuing” and “pedesriants,” and repeated use of “make” and “set.” Use precise verbs such as “replace,” “retain,” “relocate” and “reduce” to describe the map changes.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You communicate the broad sequence of present and planned features, but grammatical control is inconsistent, and most sentences rely on short, simple patterns. Errors in verb forms and sentence construction appear in phrases such as “authority made a plan for development and make it more attractive” and “Dual carriageway will be the all sides of this plan.” Articles and prepositions are also often missing or incorrect, as in “in the east has a park” and “School situated besides the hosuing.” These problems sometimes make relationships between locations and changes unclear. Practise complete subject–verb sentences, accurate future forms (“the plan will include”), and location phrases (“to the east of,” “south of”). A few well-controlled complex sentences would also add variety.

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