Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-13
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 layout displays the farm in 1950 and how it looks nowadays.
Overall, Farm transformed into an organised site with addition of different buildings, placements and technology. In previous years, Farm had traditional infrastructure with limited number of blocks.
Farm is located near the river and also includes the track in it. In 1950 plan, area on the north side of a farm is reserved for the sheep. The west had different blocks for fram items. First section was assigned for a fruit trees and second one was for soft fruits. The last one was booked for vegetables. All the three blocks linked with track. The east of fram covered with barn and farmhouse was built near to it. The southeast small area was reserved for chickens.
On the other hand, today the fram is revamped into a structured site. The sheep area is divided and converted into a camping field and beside it a new parking area is established. Solar panels is installed in rest of the sheep area and another parking site build near it. Moreover, a fram shop is built infornt of fruit trees. Soft fruits and the vegetables sections are untouched and remained the same. The bran is shifted besides of vegetables and linked with two roads. Holiday cottages replaced the barn. Therefore, Farmhouse and chicken are there without any modification.
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 successfully addresses the task by summarising the main features and making comparisons between the farm layout in 1950 and today. The overview correctly identifies the general transformation from a traditional farm to a more structured and modern site. Key features, such as the conversion of the sheep area into a camping field and parking spaces, the addition of solar panels and a farm shop, and the retention of the fruit and vegetable sections, are clearly highlighted. However, there are some minor omissions and misidentifications of labels, such as referring to the 'barn' as 'bran' and then stating that holiday cottages replaced it, which introduces slight confusion. Overall, the main trends and changes are adequately covered, fulfilling the requirements for Band 6.0.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The report has a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction, overview, and body paragraphs dedicated to the past and present layouts. Paragraphing is used sufficiently to separate distinct periods and areas of the farm. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical or faulty. For instance, the transition 'On the other hand' is used inappropriately since the changes do not represent a contrasting argument, but rather a temporal progression. Referencing and linking between sentences could also be smoother, leading to occasional choppiness. Despite these limitations, the progression of information remains generally clear, supporting a Band 6.0 score.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting less common items related to maps and transformations, such as 'traditional infrastructure', 'revamped', 'structured site', and 'modification'. However, there are noticeable spelling and word-choice errors throughout the text, including repeated misspellings like 'fram' instead of 'farm', 'infornt' instead of 'in front', and 'bran' instead of 'barn'. These errors do not seriously impede communication as the context remains understandable, but they restrict the lexical score to a Band 5.5.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and prepositional phrases (e.g., 'The layout displays the farm in 1950 and how it looks nowadays'). However, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with missing articles ('with addition of different buildings', 'built near to it', 'chicken are there'), subject-verb agreement issues ('Solar panels is installed', 'another parking site build'), and preposition usage. While these errors rarely completely obscure the meaning, their frequency prevents the grammar from reaching a higher band. Control is consistent with a Band 5.5.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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