Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

The chart illustrated the centre of a small town called Islip and the difference's between the past and Islip town now. Now, The town is heavily modernised, there are several facilities added in the center now.

To begin with, before the development of the Islip town centre, there are 2 housing are from countryside south position. On the left side of farthest housing, there are school and park by the right side. Then, if we are wallking straight from the housing area, there are main road between 2 shops.

Now, the centre has changed dramatucally, there are more places to visit. First of all the road changed to the outside of the buildings. and the school and housing outside of the line stay the same. The building now is i the centre of the road. The shops is in the middle of the buildings in horizontal. If you are walking straight from shops, there is pedestrians only space followed by bus station. shopping centre, car park and there are new housing area. On contrast, if you are looking back from shops there is 2 housing, one of them is new. Then by the right side of the new housing, there is park.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response4.5
Coherence and Cohesion5.0
Lexical Resource5.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.0

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You identify that the town centre is being modernised and mention several genuine changes, including the pedestrian-only street, new transport and shopping facilities, new housing, and the altered road layout. However, the account is only partially accurate and the main features are not clearly summarised. In the existing map, the school is south of the western side road, while the park is east of the town centre; your description places them together beside the housing. The planned map also retains the southern shops, but this is not clearly reported, and “the building now is i the centre of the road” does not explain the new arrangement. Give a concise overview, then compare the north and south sides accurately.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has separate paragraphs for the existing layout and the proposed development, and phrases such as “To begin with” and “On contrast” show an attempt to guide the reader. However, the progression within paragraphs is often difficult to follow because locations and directions are described imprecisely. For example, “if you are walking straight from shops” does not make clear which shops or direction is meant, and the sequence of facilities is confusing. Some linking expressions are also used inaccurately or mechanically. Organise the report by map stage, with a clear overview followed by a consistent description from north to south or west to east. Use references such as “north of the pedestrian street” to make relationships explicit.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant map vocabulary, including “housing,” “main road,” “pedestrians only,” “bus station,” and “shopping centre,” so the reader can recognise several features. However, the range is limited and some word choices or phrases are inaccurate, repetitive, or informal for an IELTS map report. “Places to visit” is vague, while “the road changed to the outside of the buildings” does not precisely describe the dual-carriageway loop. There are also noticeable spelling errors, including “dramatucally” and “wallking,” which reduce accuracy. Build a more precise set of terms for location and change, such as “is replaced by,” “remains,” “to the east of,” and “encircle,” and check spelling before submitting.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and longer sentence forms, including a conditional-style description beginning “if you are walking straight from shops.” However, complex sentences are often faulty, and errors in agreement, articles, tense, and sentence boundaries occur frequently enough to make some relationships unclear. Examples include “there are 2 housing are,” “the shops is,” and “the school and housing outside of the line stay the same.” The opening also joins two complete ideas with a comma: “The town is heavily modernised, there are several facilities added.” Practise accurate present-tense descriptions of maps and use shorter, controlled sentences before adding clauses. Check subject–verb agreement and punctuation in each sentence.

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