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 plans illustrates display the two sites of a farm showing its layout and facilities available before and after the development.
Overall, the farm has underground significant development, eith several new facilities being introduced, including a farm shop, camping field, solar panels, parking area and holiday cottage. However, the agricultural areas, rivers, farmhouse and barn have remained largerly unchanged.
Looking at the western and central part of farm, the areas used for agriculture have remained largerly unchanged. Fruits trees are still located in north western part, while the soft fruit and vegetable field remain in centeral and south western areas. The river also continue to run along the sourthern and western areas of farm. However, some changes have been made
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 fails to meet the minimum length requirement of 150 words, stopping abruptly at 120 words with an unfinished sentence ('However, some changes have been made'). Because the text cuts off so early, the student is unable to fully complete the description of the second plan or provide a robust overview and detailed comparisons. While the overview attempts to highlight main features such as the introduction of a farm shop and camping field alongside unchanged agricultural plots, the truncation severely limits the development of Task Achievement, capping the score at Band 5.0.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response begins with an appropriate introductory sentence and a clear overview paragraph signalled by 'Overall, the farm has underground significant development...'. Paragraphing is attempted, but because the text cuts off mid-sentence in the third paragraph, the overall logical progression remains incomplete. Cohesive devices such as 'However' and 'while' are used correctly in the initial sections to contrast changes with continuity, but the abrupt termination of the response disrupts the structural flow.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student attempts some less common vocabulary relevant to task 1 descriptions, such as 'significant development', 'facilities', and 'remain largely unchanged'. However, there are notable lexical and spelling inaccuracies, including 'The plans illustrates display' (grammar/vocabulary clash), 'underground' instead of 'undergone', 'eith' instead of 'with', and 'largerly' instead of 'largely'. These errors detract from the precision of the writing, though the vocabulary remains adequate to convey the basic topic.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The essay displays a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as relative clauses and passive constructions ('with several new facilities being introduced'). However, grammatical accuracy is compromised by several errors: 'The plans illustrates display' contains a subject-verb agreement error and redundant verbs; 'underground' is misused for 'undergone'; and spelling mistakes occur frequently. Furthermore, the response is incomplete, ending mid-sentence, which limits the exhibition of a wider range of grammatically accurate complex structures.
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.