Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

The given maps illustrate how the centre of small town called islip was during it's development and in present day.

Overall, the centre has been changed significantly, bust station, car park, new houssing estabished, whereas, park and school remained unchanged.

During development, there was a main road on the north and along road, there were a shops on both up and down side. The upside's shop repleced by bus station,shopping centre, car park and new housing. On the south-west and near the centre, new housings has been constructed.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0

You identify that the maps show substantial change and mention several relevant features, including the bus station, car park, new housing, park and school. However, the response reports only a small part of the planned layout and does not clearly compare the town centre now with the proposed plan. Some details are inaccurate or unclear: the main road is described as being “on the north,” although it runs east–west through the centre, and the park and school do not both remain unchanged—the park is reduced in size. The overview is also incomplete, omitting the pedestrian-only street and the dual-carriageway loop. The response is substantially below the required 150 words, leaving the main changes underdeveloped. Include the key changes and their locations in a fuller comparison.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic overall shape: an opening sentence, an overview beginning “Overall,” and a short description of changes. This gives the reader some sense of the topic and separates general information from details. However, the progression is limited, and the final paragraph combines several locations and changes without a clear sequence. Phrases such as “During development” are confusing because the maps compare the present layout with a planned one, rather than describing a development period. The linking word “whereas” does not connect the listed features smoothly, and the relationship between the “upside” shops and the new facilities is not consistently clear. Organise the details by area or by what is retained and replaced, and use clearer links such as “north of the street” and “to the south.”

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant map vocabulary, including “centre,” “main road,” “shops,” “bus station,” “shopping centre,” “car park” and “school.” These terms show that you can identify several features of the plan. However, the range is limited, and some word choices or forms make the description difficult to interpret. “During development” is not a precise way to distinguish the planned map from the present one, while “upside’s shop” and “along road” are unclear descriptions of location. There are also noticeable spelling errors, including “houssing,” “estabished” and “repleced.” Use accurate map language such as “north of,” “south of,” “replaced by,” and “remains,” and check spelling carefully. More varied, precise vocabulary would make the comparisons clearer.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple statements and a longer sentence, and the opening “The given maps illustrate how…” provides a useful reporting structure. However, the range of sentence patterns is limited, and errors occur in basic sentence construction, articles, agreement and verb forms. For example, “centre of small town” needs an article, and “a shops” has incorrect article and plural agreement. In “new housings has been constructed,” the subject and verb do not agree, and the passive form is not controlled. The sentence beginning “Overall” also lacks a clear grammatical structure around “bust station, car park, new houssing estabished.” Use complete sentences with a clear subject and verb, and practise accurate passive forms such as “The shops were replaced by…” alongside simple present-tense descriptions.

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