Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-11-08
IELTS Writing Task 1 question
The plans below show the site of a farm in 1950 and the same site today.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
Student answer (Band 5.5)
The plans illustrates two diagram site of a farm in 1950 and the same farm site today.
Overall, beechwood farm today's had undergone major changes like, farm site have camping field, they added solar panels parkings, Whereas the farm site in 1950 had less construction and resources.
In 1950 the farm site had sheep open area at right side, While on corner of right side barn and farmhouse, chickens were kept. However, on left side they had fruits trees, soft fruits and vegetables, beside that there was a river and road attached to river.
On the other hand, today's beechwood farm was developed and had many major changes compare with 1950 farm. The farm site had lot of changes like, they built camping field, a parking area, farm shop. In addition they made road on track side to reach barn and at right side corner holiday cottages were builded. Meanwhile, from 1950 to today's farm site had almost developed.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
You identify the two time periods and give a broad overview that the farm has changed, mentioning new facilities such as camping, solar panels, parking and a farm shop. You also compare the earlier open sheep area and agricultural plots with later development. However, the account is only partly complete and some locations are inaccurate or vague: in 1950 the sheep area was north of the track, not on the “right side,” and the barn and farmhouse were in the eastern part rather than simply at a corner. The present-day changes also include holiday cottages and a rearranged road network, while the solar panels are not clearly described in the body. Select the main changes more precisely and explain what was retained as well as what was added or relocated.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, a paragraph about 1950 and a paragraph about today. This gives the reader a basic route through the comparison. However, progression within the paragraphs is uneven, and several linking expressions are either repetitive or do not show a clear relationship. For example, “However” introduces details that do not contrast with the preceding point, while “On the other hand” repeats the shift to the present already signalled by the paragraphing. The final sentence, “Meanwhile, from 1950 to today's farm site had almost developed,” repeats the overview without adding a clear comparison. Group features by location or by what changed, and use links such as “whereas,” “in contrast” and “in addition” only where their relationships are accurate.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
You use some relevant map vocabulary, including “river,” “track,” “farmhouse,” “camping field” and “holiday cottages,” so the reader can identify many of the features. However, the range is limited and several choices or forms are imprecise, which sometimes makes the description awkward. “Resources” is not a suitable term for the farm’s facilities, and “road attached to river” does not clearly express the relationship between these features. There are also errors such as “fruits trees” and “builded.” Aim for precise location and change vocabulary, and learn common collocations such as “a road branches off” and “facilities were added.” Avoid repeating “major changes” and “farm site” when more specific wording is available.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The response attempts a few longer sentences, for example, “In addition they made road on track side to reach barn and at right side corner holiday cottages were builded,” but these constructions are often faulty. Errors in agreement and articles appear in “The plans illustrates” and “had lot of changes”; tense and verb-form problems occur in “today's had undergone” and “were builded.” Sentence boundaries and punctuation are also inconsistent, including the comma before “Whereas” in the overview and the capitalised “While” mid-sentence. Most sentences rely on simple patterns, and these errors can make relationships between features difficult to follow. Practise accurate past-versus-present forms and build comparisons with controlled clauses, such as “In 1950, the site had…, whereas today it has…”.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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