Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-11-03

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 given maps illustrates Islip town before and after the development. Overall, the centre of the town now has fewer facilities but after development there are lot of major developments.

Right now, the town has one Main road and shops at both sides of the road.There is country side on the North side of the shops with no other facilities and on the South side of shops there are fewer housing socities having park and school around it.

But after the development, there is lot advancement with the construction of Dual carriageway over the town that is covering the whole town. Pedstrians is being constructed in the middle of carriageway. There is development on the North side, the shops and countryside relpaced with separate sectios of Bus station, Shopping center, Car park and New Housing scheme. And on the South there are few changes with addition of New housing scheme.Park, school and old houses remained at the same place. And the carriageway is being constructed in between them.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the main contrast between the town’s current layout and its planned redevelopment, and your overview notes that the future centre will have more facilities. You also report several key changes, including the bus station, shopping centre, car park and new housing. However, some details are inaccurate or unclear: the dual carriageway forms a loop around the centre rather than covering the whole town, and the pedestrian-only street replaces the central road rather than being constructed in the middle of the carriageway. The park is reduced in size, not unchanged, and the school and some housing remain outside the loop. To make the account more complete, explain the southern changes and the retained shops more precisely.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable overall structure: an introduction and overview are followed by a description of the present layout and then the planned changes. This makes the broad comparison easy to follow. However, the two main description sections are compressed into long sentences, and several ideas are joined with repeated “and” or “there is,” which makes relationships between features less clear. For example, the final sentence groups the park, school and old houses together even though they occupy different positions relative to the carriageway. Use clearer paragraphing and organise details by area—for example, north of the pedestrian street, then south of it—and use reference words carefully to show what remains or changes.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant map vocabulary such as “Main road,” “Dual carriageway,” “Bus station” and “New housing,” which helps communicate the main features. There is also some attempt to describe change through phrases such as “after the development” and “addition of.” However, several word choices and spelling errors reduce precision, including “country side,” “Pedstrians,” “relpaced” and “sectios.” Phrases such as “lot of major developments” and “lot advancement” are also awkward and repetitive. Aim for accurate, natural collocations and use precise verbs for map changes, such as “is replaced by,” “is retained” and “is converted into.” Proofreading spelling would make the description more professional.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt a mixture of simple and more complex sentences, including a contrast introduced by “But after the development” and a relative clause in “the carriageway … that is covering the whole town.” However, some errors in agreement, articles and sentence construction are noticeable. For example, “The given maps illustrates” should use a plural verb, while “there are lot of major developments” needs an article or plural quantifier. The sentence beginning “There is country side” also has an awkward grammatical pattern, and punctuation is inconsistent, as in “road.There.” Work on subject–verb agreement, article use and sentence boundaries, while keeping some complex structures. More accurate control would make the comparisons easier to understand.

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