Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-16

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 5.0)

The representations illustrate the site of a farm in 1950 and the same place today.

Overall, the place upwent into significant developments with South East with least amount of changes and North East also known as sheep area with major changes.

To start with, the sheep area was replaced with camping field and large amount of solar panels in order to fulfill the energy requirements. Also, areas for parking have also been considered. Moreover, the area of fruit trees had also a minor update in the form of a convenient farm shop.

Furthermore, the main road at the centre of farm has been renewed. The area which indicates vast amount of updates was in the South East of site. The very first change in this region was the change of location of barn. Then, the construction of holiday cottages were a major development for this area. On the other hand, farmhouse, chickens, vegetables and soft fruits didn't even showed a minor update in their location.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response attempts to summarise the main changes between the two maps of Beechwood Farm. While an overview is attempted, it contains confusing spatial references, such as stating that the south-east had the 'least amount of changes' while later contradicting this by stating it experienced a 'vast amount of updates'. Furthermore, some of the stated details are inaccurate or misread against the visual data, such as claiming the barn changed location when the maps show a new barn was added or an old one repurposed in a different layout, and incorrectly claiming the farmhouse and other features did not change when several surrounding features like holiday cottages were added. The response satisfies the basic requirement of addressing the task, but the development and reporting of main features are flawed.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is divided into paragraphs, but the logical progression is weak. The overview sentence ('Overall, the place upwent into significant developments...') is awkward and fails to clearly summarise the main global trends. Cohesive devices are used mechanically or incorrectly (e.g., 'To start with', 'Furthermore'), and referencing is sometimes unclear, making it difficult to follow the spatial comparison between 1950 and today. Paragraphing is present, but internal cohesion within paragraphs often breaks down due to abrupt shifts in focus and confusing geographical descriptions.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is relatively basic and repetitive, with unnatural phrasing such as 'place upwent into' and 'didn't even showed a minor update'. There are noticeable lexical errors and inappropriate collocations throughout the text. While the student attempts to name some specific features from the map (e.g., 'solar panels', 'camping field', 'holiday cottages'), the overall lexical range is limited and inadequate for a higher band, occasionally causing ambiguity for the reader.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay demonstrates a limited range of grammatical structures. Simple sentences dominate, and attempts at complex structures often result in errors, such as 'the construction of holiday cottages were a major development' (subject-verb agreement error) and tense inconsistencies like 'didn't even showed'. Punctuation is generally basic. Grammatical errors are frequent and occasionally cause difficulty for the reader, placing this response firmly in the Band 5 category.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.