Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-24
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 two maps illustrates the key changes in the layout of a farm in 1950 and its present look.
Overall, farm has shifted from purely agricultural setup to commercialized and tourists friendly estate. Key developments include facilities for visitors, renewable energy infrastructure, upgraded paths and modified farming facilities.
In 1950, estate was accessed by simple track which linked with main road and alongside it there was a fields of fruit trees, soft fruits and vegetables. On the north east side, the large open area was reserved for sheep while southeast corner contain a farm house, barn and chickens farms.
Today, Track is shifted in modified road along with two parking areas which construct on its both corners. The sheep field is converted into camping field area and solar panels plant. Fruit shop is made Infront of fruit trees area which linked with main road and new modified road on the west corner of the farm. The Barn area is converted into holiday cottage while farmhouse and chickens farm remain same.
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 student successfully highlights the major changes between 1950 and the present day, noting the transformation from an agricultural setup to a tourist-friendly estate. An appropriate overview is provided in the second sentence, capturing the commercialization and addition of tourist facilities. Most main features are reported accurately, such as the addition of the camping field, solar panels, farm shop, and parking areas. However, there are minor inaccuracies in reporting the spatial details; for instance, the student states that the barn area was converted into a holiday cottage, whereas the map shows holiday cottages built separately alongside a retained farmhouse and a barn relocated or kept at the southern end. Overall, the content adequately addresses the visual prompt.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The response is arranged into a logical structure with an introduction, an overview, and separate paragraphs describing the past and present layouts. Cohesive devices are used to guide the reader through the temporal comparison, such as 'In 1950' and 'Today'. However, some paragraphing and transitions feel slightly mechanical, and referencing is occasionally unclear, such as 'Track is shifted in modified road along with two parking areas which construct on its both corners.' Overall organization is coherent, but smoother transitions and better integration of sentences would elevate the score.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The student attempts a range of task-appropriate vocabulary related to maps and rural development, including terms like 'commercialized', 'tourists friendly estate', 'renewable energy infrastructure', and 'camping field'. However, there are several word choice and collocation errors, such as 'illustrates' used with plural 'maps' ('The two maps illustrates'), 'farm has shifted' missing an article ('the farm'), and 'tourists friendly' instead of 'tourist-friendly'. Spelling is generally correct, but grammatical word forms need refinement.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating attempts at relative clauses ('which linked with main road') and passive structures ('is converted into'). However, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly missing articles ('farm has shifted', 'simple track', 'main road', 'farm house'), incorrect verb forms ('illustrates' for plural maps, 'construct' instead of 'are constructed'), and prepositions ('on its both corners' instead of 'at both ends'). These errors occasionally create minor friction for the reader.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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