Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-22
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)
These two images illustrate the changes that have taken place on beechwood farm between 1950 and the present day.
Overall, several changes can be observed. In addition, in today's farm, the sheep area is heavily changed, also the track is been converted into a carpet road. While the river and main road remains at its original place.
Regarding, 1950's beechwood farm, there was a dedicated area for sheep going across the track. Furthermore, a barn, a farmhouse, and a dedicated area was on the right side of the map. Whereas, the bottom side of the map was covered with the fruit and soft fruits alongside with an vegetables section.
As for today's farm, the sheep area has been replaced with solar panels, a parking area and the camping fields. Moreover, the track is converted into a road, barn took the place of holiday cottages while farmhouse and chickens section are on their origital places. A road is leading towards a barn from the conjuction, while there's an addition of farm shop near fruit trees. Whereas, soft fruits and vegetables are still there.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The student attempts to address the task by comparing the 1950 map with the present-day layout of Beechwood Farm. An overview is provided, noting general changes such as the conversion of the track into a road and the persistence of the river and main road. Key features are selected, such as the replacement of the sheep area with solar panels, a parking area, and camping fields. However, there are some inaccuracies and confusions in reporting the spatial relationships; for instance, the student states that 'barn took the place of holiday cottages', whereas the maps show the holiday cottages were newly built where a track was, and the original barn remains in the south. Furthermore, the description lacks a fully developed, smoothly integrated selection of main trends, resulting in a Band 5.5 performance.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response is divided into four paragraphs: an introduction, an overview, a description of 1950, and a description of today. This provides a clear structural framework. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical or faulty, as seen in awkward transitional phrases like 'In addition, in today's farm, the sheep area is heavily changed, also the track is been converted...' and 'Regarding, 1950's beechwood farm'. Paragraphing is used adequately to separate time periods, but the logical progression between sentences occasionally falters due to punctuation errors and repetitive linking.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for describing map transformations, such as 'converted', 'replaced', and 'addition'. However, there are noticeable word choice and collocation errors, such as 'carpet road' instead of paved or tarmac road, and non-standard phrasing like 'origital places' and 'conjuction' (junction). Less common lexical items are attempted but with occasional inaccuracies that reflect a limited and developing range, positioning this response firmly at Band 5.5.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but control over grammar and punctuation is inconsistent. There are several grammatical errors and awkward structures throughout the text, including tense and voice errors ('the track is been converted', 'river and main road remains'), missing articles ('an vegetables section'), and incorrect prepositions ('alongside with'). Punctuation is also faulty in places (e.g., unnecessary commas after 'Regarding'). These errors frequently distract the reader, though they do not completely obscure the meaning.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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