Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-17
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 plans below illustrate the site of the farm in 1950 and how it looks today after redevelopment.
Overall, it can be clearly seen that the farm has undergone some significant renovations with the construction of a camping field, parking area, farm shop, and holiday cottages.
In 1950, there were some fruit trees at the entrance of the farm from the highway that has been modernized by adding a farm shop and a parking area opposite the shop. There is a camping field on the left side of the entrance, whereas it was clear ground in 1950.
Soft fruits, a vegetable garden, chickens, the road, and the farmhouse remained unchanged. In contrast, a holiday cottage has been built on the right middle side of the farm.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The response satisfies some basic requirements of the task by providing an overview and highlighting key changes, such as the introduction of the camping field, farm shop, parking area, and holiday cottages. However, the response falls significantly short of the 150-word minimum, containing only 126 words. This results in a penalty for under-length, and some areas of the maps are treated with limited development. Specifically, the claim that the vegetable garden, chickens, the road, and the farmhouse remained completely unchanged overlooks alterations to the road layout and the repositioning of some structures.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response is organized into a logical progression, beginning with an introductory statement, followed by an overall summary, and then comparing specific features between the two years. Cohesive devices such as 'Overall', 'In 1950', and 'In contrast' are used adequately to connect ideas. Paragraphing is attempted, though the text is brief and divided into short blocks. Referencing is generally clear, allowing the reader to follow the spatial comparisons between the past and present layouts.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, successfully incorporating specific terms related to the visual data such as 'renovations', 'camping field', 'holiday cottages', and 'modernized'. There are occasional slight inaccuracies in collocation or phrasing, such as 'right middle side of the farm'. Overall, the lexical range is sufficient to convey the main features and comparisons, although it lacks the more sophisticated or less common lexical items characteristic of higher bands.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The student demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, including relative clauses and comparative constructions. There are some grammatical errors and awkward phrasing, notably in the sentence 'In 1950, there were some fruit trees at the entrance of the farm from the highway that has been modernized...', where the relative pronoun agreement is faulty ('that has' refers plural or singular inconsistently). However, punctuation and grammar do not impede overall communication.
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.