Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-08-04
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 below show the site of Beechwood Farm in 1950 and the same site today. We can immediately see that, during the last 70 years, the site has seen remarkable changes in space's organization.
First of all, the track, that in 1950 divided the farm in two main portions, now is a road with the same geometry: two portions of the road connected by a sort of triangular intersection. However, today the intersections has a connection with a small barn, differently from the 1950's configuration where the barn was bigger and located in a different spot. Regarding the upper part of site, the area intended for sheeps contains now a camping field, solar pannels and two parking on the side of the road. However, the lower part of the site, has seen fewer variations: the only differences stand in a new farm shop in the fruit trees area and some holiday cottages replacing the barn.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response covers the main features of the transformation, such as the road layout, the addition of the camping field, solar panels, and the conversion of the barn into holiday cottages. However, the analysis is somewhat superficial. For instance, the description of the road as having 'the same geometry' is vague, and the report lacks a clear overview or summary paragraph that highlights the most significant trends, such as the shift from agricultural use to tourism. While the main features are identified, the response would benefit from a more structured approach that clearly separates the key changes to ensure the information is presented more logically.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organized into two paragraphs, but the progression of ideas is slightly disjointed. While cohesive devices like 'First of all', 'However', and 'Regarding' are used, they are sometimes applied in a way that feels mechanical. The transition between the description of the road and the specific site features could be smoother. Additionally, the paragraphing is unbalanced; the second paragraph is quite dense, covering multiple distinct areas of the farm without clear internal signposting. Improving the use of paragraph breaks to group related changes (e.g., infrastructure vs. land use) would enhance the overall flow.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The range of vocabulary is adequate for the task, with some attempts at topic-specific language such as 'configuration', 'variations', and 'intersection'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation. For example, 'space's organization' is unnatural; 'the organization of the site' would be better. 'Two parking' is grammatically incorrect (should be 'two parking areas'). The use of 'sheeps' is a spelling error, as the plural of sheep is 'sheep'. To reach a higher band, you should aim for more precise terminology regarding land use and development.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors that, while they do not impede communication, are noticeable. For instance, 'the track, that in 1950 divided...' should use 'which' rather than 'that' for non-defining clauses. There is also a subject-verb agreement error in 'today the intersections has a connection' (should be 'intersection has'). Punctuation is generally functional, but the misuse of commas in some places disrupts the rhythm of the sentences. Increasing the variety of error-free complex structures would help improve this score.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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