Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-21
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 5.0)
The plans presented to your attention showcase the layout of Beechwood Farm in 1950 and today. Some changes have occurced since then and we will give a brief overview.
At first glance, you can see that new developments have taken place in Beechwood Farm. One of the major technological advancements is the addition of Solar panels in place of previous sheep farm. The farm space has also been used for new parking spaces and a camping field. It is noteworthy, that more tourists are willing to spend time on the Beechwoodfarm. Some prefer to camp, while others prefer a more comfortable stay at the newly built holiday cottages. The latter is located where the barn used to be.
No major changes have been made to the main road, however the walking tracks have been upgraded to roads. The farmhouse and the garden have primarily remained the same, however there is a new farm shop between the main road and fruit trees.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The response makes an attempt to summarise the changes between 1950 and today, but it suffers from a conversational and informal tone ('The plans presented to your attention...', 'we will give a brief overview', 'At first glance, you can see...'). Furthermore, there are some inaccurate descriptions of the map data; for example, the student states that solar panels are in place of the previous sheep farm, whereas the sheep area has actually been converted into a camping field, and the solar panels are located in the far north-east corner. The student also mentions that the barn has been replaced by holiday cottages, but the maps show that the original barn remains in the southern part of the site while a new set of holiday cottages was built nearby. Consequently, the task is only partially addressed due to these inaccuracies and a lack of a clear, objective overview.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0
The essay is divided into three brief paragraphs, attempting an introduction, body, and conclusion format. However, the logical progression is hindered by inaccurate spatial reporting and a conversational style that feels out of place in an Academic Task 1 response. Cohesive devices are minimal and sometimes awkward, such as 'At first glance, you can see that' and 'It is noteworthy, that more tourists...'. Paragraphing is used, but the overall structural organisation lacks the formal progression and cohesive flow expected of a Band 6 or higher essay.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is adequate for basic communication but lacks precision and sophistication. Words like 'advancements', 'space', and 'upgraded' are used, alongside spelling errors such as 'occurced' instead of 'occurred'. The student attempts some less common phrasing like 'technological advancements' and 'comfortable stay', but these are either inaccurate in context or too informal. There is also a repeated error in spelling 'Beechwoodfarm' as a single word in the second paragraph. The lexical range remains somewhat limited and repetitive.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The text displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as 'Some changes have occurced since then and we will give a brief overview' and 'While some prefer to camp, while others prefer a more comfortable stay...'. There is a grammatical error in the second sentence with 'while others prefer' following a 'while some' clause incorrectly, leading to a minor structural fault. Punctuation errors are also present, such as the unnecessary comma in 'It is noteworthy, that...'. While communication is not severely impeded, the frequency of stylistic and grammatical slips keeps this within the Band 5.5 range.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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