Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-11-09
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 illustrate the site of a farm in 1950 and the same site today.
Overall, it is noticeable that, in 1950 sheep farm covered the most of the area but today sheep farm has been removed. In addition, solar panels and camping field have been introduced in the place of sheep farm and a little bit parking.
Today soft fruits and vegetables are on the same place. While, in the past. The track converted into proper road which passed through the beechwood farm and touch the main road. The barn place replace with holiday cottages and barn moved near to chikens and farmhouse.
On the other side, fruit trees and farm shop are in one place where 1950 just fruit trees. The river is the same place where in 1950 and today. Parking is also added near to the solar panels and attach with also main road. The sheep farm totally removed now.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
You identify the main change—the removal of the sheep area—and mention several relevant developments, including the camping field, solar panels, farm shop and holiday cottages. However, some comparisons are inaccurate or unclear: the camping field and solar panels are not simply in the former sheep area, and the barn was not moved near the chickens; it is shown south-west of the farmhouse at the road junction. The statement that soft fruits and vegetables are “on the same place” also needs clarification, as their plots remain broadly in the same southern area rather than being identical in position. The response is 142 words, below the 150-word minimum. A fuller overview and more precise reporting of the site changes would make the summary more complete.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0
The response has a basic overall structure: an introduction, an overview, and two paragraphs describing changes. This gives the reader some sense of how the information is organised. However, progression is not consistently clear, and several ideas are joined in ways that make their relationships difficult to follow. For example, “While, in the past. The track converted…” is an incomplete and confusing transition, while “The barn place replace with holiday cottages and barn moved…” combines separate changes without clearly distinguishing them. “On the other side” is also not an effective link for introducing another set of map details. Group changes by area or by what remained versus what changed, and use linking phrases accurately.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
You use relevant map vocabulary such as “river,” “track,” “fruit trees,” “solar panels” and “holiday cottages,” so the reader can recognise many of the features being compared. However, the range is limited and several word choices or combinations are inaccurate or awkward, including “sheep farm,” “in one place,” “barn place replace” and “attach with also main road.” These expressions sometimes make the intended spatial relationship unclear. There are also spelling errors, such as “chikens,” and repeated use of “place” where more precise location language would help. Build a wider set of terms for describing map changes, such as “was converted into,” “was relocated,” “adjacent to” and “in the north-eastern corner,” and check spelling.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
You attempt both simple statements and more complex comparisons, including “Overall, it is noticeable that…” and “While, in the past…,” but control is uneven. Errors in sentence formation, tense and agreement occur frequently enough to make some relationships difficult to understand. For example, “The track converted into proper road” needs a passive verb form and articles, while “the barn place replace with holiday cottages” has an unclear subject and incorrect verb form. The fragment “While, in the past.” also interrupts the sentence, and punctuation around it is faulty. Practise forming complete comparison sentences with consistent past and present tenses, for example, “The track has been upgraded to a road, while the barn has been relocated.”
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