Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-02

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 plan illustrate the site of a farm in the year 1950 and the same site today.

Overall, today's site is more develop then in the year 1950. There are some parts remain on their place, while some new places introduced and some were moved to a different location. Moreover, they turned track into a road.

In today's site it look's more advanced. To begin with, the river and highway remain same at their place, while they developed track into a road. In addition, there was sheep's on the north side of the track, but in the current map there are many other thing like camping field, solar panels and 2 parking.

Furthermore, they replaced barn with a holiday cottages, now you can see barn at the end of small road. There are no changes in the places of farmhouse, chickens, vegetables, soft fruits and fruit trees, but they introduced a new farm shop on the road and near fruit trees.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response covers the main features of the maps, such as the conversion of the track to a road and the addition of new facilities like the camping field and solar panels. However, the overview is somewhat simplistic and lacks a clear, analytical summary of the most significant changes. While the response identifies several key developments, it misses some nuances, such as the expansion of the farmhouse or the specific relocation of certain elements. The description is occasionally repetitive, and the reporting of features could be more precise to better highlight the transformation of the site over time.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organised into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the progression of ideas. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'To begin with', 'In addition', and 'Furthermore', though some of these feel slightly mechanical. The referencing is occasionally unclear; for example, the phrase 'they turned track into a road' lacks a clear subject, and the transition between the description of the sheep and the new facilities is somewhat abrupt. Overall, the information is presented in a logical sequence, but the flow between sentences could be improved for better cohesion.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing the student to describe the changes effectively. However, there are several instances of imprecise word choice and minor errors, such as 'more develop' instead of 'more developed' and 'there was sheep's' (should be 'there were sheep'). The use of 'many other thing' is also imprecise. While the student attempts to use specific terminology like 'solar panels' and 'holiday cottages', the range is somewhat limited, and the errors occasionally draw attention to the language rather than the content.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors throughout. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues ('The plan illustrate', 'it look's'), incorrect pluralisation ('2 parking'), and missing articles ('at the end of small road'). While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are persistent and occur in almost every sentence. To reach a higher band, the student needs to focus on basic accuracy, particularly with verb tenses, articles, and subject-verb agreement, before attempting more complex structures.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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