Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-12

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 provided maps illustrate the main changes that have taken place in Beechwood Farm from 1950 to the present day.

Overall, it is immediately apparent that Beechwood Farm underwent a dramatic transformation from a predominantely rural setting into a more modern hub. Furthermore, this redevelopment was characterised by the substantial expension of solar panels at the expense of holiday cottages.

To begin with, solar panels was constructed on the previously vacant land and parking has been erected. In addition, Centre of beechwood farm there has been built camping field and tree has been planted. Moreover, nearby road parking has been erected and a new farm shop has been built in front of the parking.

Turning to the next details, old tracks has been converted into road, barn has been constructed and it connected with road. Barn has been replaced by holiday cottages and there was originally a barn on this site.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response covers the main features of the maps, noting the transformation of Beechwood Farm from 1950 to the present day. The overview accurately highlights the shift from a rural setting to a modern hub with solar panels replacing holiday cottages. Key features such as the farm shop, parking areas, camping field, and new roads are selected and reported. However, some descriptions in the body paragraphs are contradictory or confusing, such as stating that a barn was constructed and connected with a road, and subsequently claiming it was replaced by holiday cottages while also mentioning an original barn on the site. This impacts the overall clarity of the comparisons, aligning the response with a Band 5.5 to 6.0 descriptor.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is divided into an introduction, overview, and body paragraphs, providing a coherent overall arrangement. Cohesive devices such as 'Overall', 'To begin with', and 'Turning to the next details' are utilized to structure the response. However, paragraphing and referencing are sometimes faulty. The final paragraph mixes multiple distinct changes together awkwardly, and referencing between sentences is occasionally unclear, such as the pronoun use and contradictory statements regarding the barns. Cohesion is at times mechanical, placing this criterion at the Band 6.0 level.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully using terms such as 'transformation', 'predominantly rural setting', 'vacant land', and 'redevelopment'. There are, however, noticeable spelling and word choice errors, including 'predominanteley' and 'expension'. Additionally, some collocations and word forms are imprecise. Despite these errors, the vocabulary is minimally adequate to convey the intended meaning, supporting a Band 6.0 score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some attempt at variety. However, there are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text, particularly regarding subject-verb agreement and passive voice structures, such as 'solar panels was constructed' and 'old tracks has been converted'. Punctuation and article usage also show persistent flaws. While these errors do not completely obscure the message, they reduce the proportion of error-free sentences, placing this aspect at a Band 5.0.

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

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