Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-10-30

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)

The map illustrates the centre of a small town called Islip . The map domonstrates the current town and plans for development. Islip does not have much facilities in the town currently. There are alot of facilities are going to be developed in Islip.

The big develpoment in the town is the dual carriageway which is connected to every part of the town and the countryside is removed from the map. The countryside has been replaced by bus station, shopping centre and a car parking. Right beside car parking new housing has been developed which is not located in current map.

No major changes had been made for shops , park, school and housing which is next too school . There is a new walk way right upon shops which is newly developed is pedestrains only . Housing which were in the south direction right under the shops shifted towards west and right beside park new housing has been developed.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the main purpose of the maps and report several important changes, including the new dual carriageway, the replacement of northern shops by a bus station, shopping centre and car park, and the pedestrian-only street. However, the overview is vague: saying Islip has “not much facilities” does not clearly summarise the scale or pattern of change. Some details are inaccurate or unclear. The carriageway forms a loop around the centre rather than connecting to every part of the town, and the southern shops remain in place. Housing is not simply shifted west; the plan shows existing housing to the west, new housing in the middle, and a smaller park to the east. A more precise overview and clearer comparisons would strengthen coverage.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic overall structure: an introduction, a paragraph describing northern and road changes, and a final paragraph about the southern area. This gives the reader some sense of progression. However, the sequence within paragraphs is not always easy to follow, and several ideas are joined in ways that obscure their relationships. For example, “No major changes had been made for shops, park, school and housing” is followed by details that qualify or contradict this broad statement. References such as “which is next too school” and “right beside park” are also unclear. Organise the comparison by area—north, central street, then south—and use clear links such as “whereas” and “in contrast” to show what changes and what remains.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant map vocabulary, including “dual carriageway,” “bus station,” “shopping centre,” “new housing” and “pedestrians only,” so the reader can identify several planned features. However, the range is limited and some word choices or collocations are inaccurate, such as “a car parking,” “walk way,” and “facilities are going to be developed.” Repetition of “developed” and “new housing” also makes the description less precise. There are noticeable spelling errors, including “domonstrates,” “develpoment,” “alot” and “pedestrains,” which reduce the accuracy of the vocabulary. Use standard map terms consistently and choose verbs that describe the changes, such as “replace,” “remain” and “be relocated.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response attempts both simple and more complex sentences, but grammatical errors are frequent and sometimes make relationships between features difficult to understand. For example, “Islip does not have much facilities” has an agreement error, while “There are alot of facilities are going to be developed” combines two sentence patterns incorrectly. Articles and plurals are also problematic in “a bus station” versus “a car parking,” and “No major changes had been made for shops.” The sentence beginning “Housing which were in the south direction” has faulty agreement and an unclear structure. Punctuation spacing is inconsistent, and the opening contains an unnecessary space before the full stop. Practise accurate present and future forms and build clear comparison sentences.

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