Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)
The map illustrates the changes to a Beechwood farm site comparing how the site looked in the year 1950 versus today.
The basic layout of the farm remain the same such that the area on the south west of the farm is still used to harvest fruit trees, soft fruits and vegetables. A new farm shop has been opened along side the river in the fruit trees area. The track has been converted to a road and the south end of the road leads to a barn. The previous barn has been reused as holiday cottages. Farmhouse and chickens remain in the same south east corner as in the 1950. The sheep area previously, has now been renovated to have two parking spaces, one at the north side and the other at north east side along the road. Solar panels have been installed in the north-east corner so that electricity consumption can be reduced. The rest of the area is used as a camping field to enjoy the scenery.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0
The response covers all key aspects of the two maps, noting major changes such as the introduction of the farm shop, parking areas, solar panels, and holiday cottages, alongside elements that remained unchanged, such as the farmhouse and chicken enclosure. An overview is present, though it is embedded within the introduction rather than presented as a distinct paragraph. There is a slight misinterpretation regarding the barn conversion; the text states that the previous barn has been reused as holiday cottages, whereas the plans show a new block of holiday cottages alongside the original barn. However, the overall reporting of features and spatial relationships is generally clear, satisfying the core requirements of Task Achievement at this level.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response is organized into two paragraphs: an introductory sentence followed by a single, dense body paragraph containing all the detail. While there is a clear logical progression moving from west to east and north to south across the maps, the lack of paragraphing for different zones or themes limits the overall cohesion. Cohesive devices are used reasonably well (e.g., 'previously', 'now', 'The rest of the area'), but referencing is occasionally mechanical or ambiguous, such as in the sentence 'The sheep area previously, has now been renovated...'. Paragraphing requires greater division to group related transformations logically for a higher band score.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, attempting some less common items related to maps and rural environments, such as 'renovated', 'consumption', and 'scenery'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'harvest fruit trees' (trees are not harvested, fruit is) and 'along side' (which should be one word: alongside). Phrasing can also be awkward at times, for instance, 'The basic layout of the farm remain the same such that...'. Despite these minor lexical lapses, the vocabulary is sufficient to convey the main features clearly, aligning with the requirements for Band 6.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The writer demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, including relative clauses and prepositional phrases (e.g., 'Solar panels have been installed in the north-east corner so that electricity consumption can be reduced'). However, there are several grammatical errors and punctuation issues throughout the text. For example, there is a subject-verb agreement error ('the basic layout... remain'), an unnecessary comma ('The sheep area previously, has now been renovated'), and a missing plural marker ('farm' instead of 'farm' in 'Beechwood farm'). While these errors do not impede overall communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent the writing from reaching Band 7.
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.