Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-15

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)

This pictorial chart presents the old plan of Beechwood Farm and comapres it with its redevelopped layout.

Overall, this farm tends to be spacious and close to a running river. It has separate areas for fruit trees, soft fruits and vegetables, along with a rectangular farmhouse and a place for chickens. While all of that kept their original positions, a lot have changed and new facilites have been installed.All the tracks were converted into roads and the old barn was changed into three holiday cottages.

To the side of the change of position of the barn to the south, a farm shop was installed to the south-west.The big area that one was dedicated to sheep was converted to 3 new facilities: two parking lots for the farm shop and holidays cottages, four solar pannels to the far north and last but not least camping fields which attracts visitors.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response covers the main features of the two maps, comparing the 1950 layout of Beechwood Farm with its present-day configuration. A clear overview is provided, noting the general transformation from an agricultural farm into a commercial and recreational site featuring a farm shop, holiday cottages, and a camping field. However, there are minor factual inaccuracies in the body paragraphs; for example, the text claims that the old barn was changed into three holiday cottages and that the old barn's position changed, whereas the visual data shows four holiday cottages and that the original barn remains in a southern location while new holiday cottages were built nearby. Furthermore, the word count is 148 words, falling slightly short of the mandatory 150-word minimum, resulting in a penalty to the score.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is divided into a suitable number of paragraphs, beginning with an introductory sentence and followed by an overview paragraph and a body paragraph. Logical progression is generally maintained as the student moves from general changes to specific new facilities. Cohesive devices are used to connect ideas, such as 'While all of that kept their original positions' and 'To the side of the change'. However, referencing and transitions are at times awkward or mechanically handled, and paragraphing could be structured more effectively to separate the contrasting spatial arrangements more clearly.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is generally adequate for the task, with domain-specific terms such as 'pictorial chart', 'redevelopped layout', 'facilities', and 'solar pannels'. There are some spelling and lexical errors, including 'comapres', 'redevelopped', 'facilites', and the unnatural phrase 'To the side of the change of position'. The student attempts some less common vocabulary ('spacious', 'commercial', 'recreational'), but the range remains somewhat limited and imprecise in places, which restricts the score to a Band 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as 'While all of that kept their original positions, a lot have changed and new facilites have been installed.' There are several grammatical errors and awkward phrasings, including subject-verb agreement issues ('a lot have changed', 'all of that kept') and punctuation omissions (missing spaces after periods in several sentences). Despite these errors, meaning is generally communicated without significant impediment, placing the response firmly in the Band 6 category.

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

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