Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-19
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 diagrams provided illustrates Beechwood farm in 1950 and how it has changed today.
Overall, considerable changes has been made to the farm. The most noticeable is large sheep space opposite to the track is now changed into camping field, solar panels installation and two car parks. Additionally, the walking track is now converted into a road leading all other facilities.
The sheep field, which covered almost half of the total area of the Beechwood farm is now divided into solar panels site to the right end and camping field to the left end adjacent to main road. Moreover, the walking track in between the farm is now modified into a road leading from one end to another and connecting the main road and other facilities of the farm.
The barn shop closer to the farmhouse is now holiday cottages, while the barn is now transferred to the middle at sharp edge of the triangular road, albeit small in size. A new farm shop is also added at the spot of fruit trees. Conversely, the farm trees, soft fruits, vegetables field, farm house and chickens house hold their original position till date.
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 candidate successfully addresses all parts of the task by reporting the main features and making relevant comparisons between the two plans of Beechwood Farm. An adequate overview is presented in the second paragraph, highlighting the major transformation from agricultural land to a mix of leisure and farming facilities. Key features are selected and reported, such as the conversion of the sheep area into a camping field and solar panels, and the modification of the track into a road. However, there are some minor inaccuracies in local spatial details; for instance, the text claims that 'the barn shop closer to the farmhouse is now holiday cottages, while the barn is now transferred to the middle', whereas the original plans show the old barn remained in the same general northern/eastern position relative to the farmhouse while new holiday cottages were built nearby. Despite these minor misreadings of specific structures, the overall response fulfills the requirements of Task 1 well.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response demonstrates a clear overall progression and logical organisation. It is divided into an introduction, an overview paragraph, and two body paragraphs detailing specific spatial changes. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different areas of the map. Cohesive devices are employed to link ideas and guide the reader, such as 'Overall', 'Additionally', 'Moreover', and 'Conversely'. However, referencing and transitional phrases occasionally feel a bit mechanical or imprecise, as seen in sentences like 'the walking track is now converted into a road leading all other facilities', where a preposition is missing. Overall, the essay is easy to follow, but cohesion requires slightly smoother integration to reach a higher band.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common items related to map descriptions, such as 'converted', 'modified', 'adjacent', and 'reciprocated concepts'. However, there are noticeable lexical inaccuracies and awkward word choices, such as 'large sheep space', 'barn shop' (referring to the barn), and 'farm trees' instead of fruit trees. Spelling is generally accurate, but some collocations are unnatural, like 'solar panels installation'. While the vocabulary is sufficient to communicate the main points clearly, errors in word choice prevent the response from achieving a higher lexical band.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, including relative clauses ('which covered almost half of the total area') and participial phrases. However, there are several grammatical errors and instances of poor phrasing throughout the text. For example, there is a subject-verb agreement error in the opening sentence ('The diagrams provided illustrates'), an article error in 'large sheep space', and missing prepositions ('leading all other facilities'). Furthermore, phrasing like 'considerable changes has been made' contains an agreement error. While these errors do not severely impede communication, their frequency means that error-free sentences are not in the majority.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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