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)
The construction plan illustrates major changes that occured on the Beechwood Farm after 1950.
Overall, it is immediately clear that parking space is now included while a shift towards renewable energy can also be seen as well.it can be seen that farm was now transformed in a way so that tourists could easily stay and enjoy.
In 1950, there were no specific parking space while the new map shows one near main road and other opposite to holiday cottages.A barn was also created at the intersection of roads. Furthermore, farm shop was also an addition built close to road at the place of fruit and trees.
Moreover, camping field with a tree was also created for the visitors and enery needs was now fullfilled through solar pannels placed close to camping area. The barn close to farm house in 1950 was converted to holiday cottages. Farmhouse and chickens section near it remained at the same place.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The student covers the main changes between 1950 and the present day, noting the addition of parking, a farm shop, a camping field, holiday cottages, and solar panels, alongside the retention of the farmhouse and chickens. However, the overview lacks comprehensive breadth regarding spatial shifts, and some details are imprecise, such as misidentifying the conversion of the 1950 barn into holiday cottages when the plans show new holiday cottages alongside a newly positioned barn. Nevertheless, key comparisons are attempted, earning a Band 6.0.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response is arranged with an introduction, a brief overview, and a body paragraph detailing specific changes. However, paragraphing is fragmented, with single-sentence lines breaking the flow (e.g., 'it can be seen that farm was now transformed...'). Cohesive devices are sometimes mechanical or awkwardly placed, and referencing is occasionally unclear. Logical progression is visible overall, but the disjointed structure prevents a higher band, placing it at Band 5.5.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, attempting some less common words and phrases such as 'renewable energy', 'intersection', and 'converted'. However, there are notable word-choice and collocation issues, such as 'fullfilled through solar pannels' and 'place of fruit and trees'. Spelling errors like 'occured' and 'pannels' also appear. The range is sufficient to convey the basic message, but inaccuracies limit the score to Band 6.0.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The student demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as 'Overall, it is immediately clear that parking space is now included...'. However, there are persistent grammatical errors, including missing articles ('parking space', 'farm shop'), tense inconsistencies ('occured', 'was now transformed'), and punctuation or capitalisation errors (e.g., lowercase 'it' after a full stop). While communication is not severely impeded, the frequency of errors restricts the score to Band 5.5.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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