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 made on beechwood farm over a period of almost 75 years.
As shown in the map, the track used to allow people to walk along to the fruits and vegetable farms and the barn as well and on the other side of the track opposite to river the sheeps used to graze. 0reviously there was some kind of chicken farming near the farmhouse.
while in recent times the treack has been replaced with paved road leading to less time consumption to reach the farms. The barn has been exchanged with holiday cottages . The barn is shifted on the right side of farmhouse. A fruit shop has also been opened just near the fruits section withe a parking lot just on the opposite bank of road. The area where sheep used to herdle has been utillized for renewable energy sources like solar plants have been installed with another parking area for visitors just near the cottages. There's also a camping site for families to enjoy their time.
overall many changes have occured mainly promoting toursims to such sites.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0
The student addresses the main features of the two maps, noting the transformation of Beechwood Farm from 1950 to the present day. Key shifts are identified, such as the replacement of the track with a paved road, the conversion of the barn into holiday cottages, the addition of a farm shop, camping facilities, and solar panels. However, there are some minor misreadings of the layout; for instance, the student states that the barn has been 'shifted on the right side of farmhouse', whereas the transcription and maps indicate a new barn or repositioned barn at the southern end, while holiday cottages occupy the previous barn area. The overview is somewhat basic ('many changes have occured mainly promoting toursims to such sites'), but it captures the overall trend adequately. Ideas are generally relevant, fulfilling the requirements for Task 1.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response has an overall logical arrangement, moving from past features to recent developments, concluding with a brief overview. However, paragraphing is underdeveloped: the body of the response is divided into only two long blocks, and the introduction lacks proper separation. Cohesive devices are used ('while in recent times', 'There's also'), but referencing and transitions can be mechanical or slightly clunky (e.g., 'the treack has been replaced...'). Paragraphing and progression need more careful structuring to achieve a higher band score.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting less common lexical items such as 'renewable energy sources', 'paved road', and 'holiday cottages'. However, there are noticeable spelling and word choice errors throughout the text, including 'treack' instead of track, 'sheeps' (sheep is plural), '0reviously', 'withe', 'herdle' (instead of herd/graze), 'utillized', 'plants' (instead of panels), and 'toursims'. These errors indicate limited control over word formation and spelling, which occasionally causes strain for the reader.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms (e.g., 'As shown in the map, the track used to allow people to walk along...'). However, grammatical accuracy is weak, with multiple errors in punctuation, capitalization (starting the text with a lowercase 'the'), prepositions, and verb forms (e.g., 'the barn has been exchanged with holiday cottages', 'lead to less time consumption'). While communication is generally maintained, frequent slips prevent the response from achieving a higher score.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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