Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-27
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 provide information regarding the site of a Beechwood fram between 1950 and recent days.
Overall, it is evident that the Beechwood fram witnessed a dramatic change. There are numerous new facilities have been added such as solar panels, parking, a comping field, and holidays cottages. However, some areas remained unchanged.
To begin with, the northeast side completely changed. In the past, there was a sheeping area. which was replaced by a comping field, solar panels, and parking. In 1950, there was a barn on the east side, and it was converted into the holiday cottages. In the past, there was a track, but nowadays which replaced by the roads.
However, fruit trees, soft fruits, vegetables, chickens, and farmhouse were remained unchanged. In 1950, there were not any barn or farm house, nowadays which have been constructed, mainly they want to enhance park convenience. In addition, the river has been no change from 1950 to today, which located in the same place of the map.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The student covers the main changes between the two maps, noting the introduction of new amenities such as solar panels, a camping field, holiday cottages, and parking areas, while acknowledging features that remained, like the fruit trees and the river. However, there are several factual inaccuracies and confusions. For instance, the student states that the barn was converted into holiday cottages, whereas the original map shows a barn and farmhouse remaining in the south while new cottages appear further north. Furthermore, the claim that 'In 1950, there were not any barn or farm house' directly contradicts both the visual data and the student's own earlier mention of a barn. Overall, the response addresses the prompt but lacks precision in reporting spatial details, placing it in Band 5.5.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0
The response is organised into four paragraphs with a clear introduction, overview, and body paragraphs discussing specific zones. Paragraphing is attempted appropriately to group changes. However, logical progression is occasionally hindered by abrupt transitions and contradictory statements (e.g., claiming a barn existed in 1950 and then stating none existed). Cohesive devices are used, but sometimes mechanically or awkwardly, such as 'To begin with' followed immediately by 'However' in the subsequent section. Referencing is also problematic at times, as seen in dangling phrases like 'which was replaced by'. Overall, the cohesion is somewhat faulty, meriting a Band 6.0.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is adequate for a basic summary of the maps, featuring relevant terms like 'facilities', 'converted', 'solar panels', and 'camping field'. However, there are spelling and word-form errors throughout, such as 'fram' instead of 'farm', 'comping' instead of 'camping', and 'holidays cottages' instead of 'holiday cottages'. The student also attempts less common items like 'sheeping area' and 'convenience', but these are unnatural or inaccurate in context. The lexical range is limited and repetition occurs, particularly with 'in the past' and 'there was'. These errors restrict the score to Band 5.0.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The response displays a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but grammatical accuracy is weak. There are frequent structural errors and non-standard clause formations, such as 'There are numerous new facilities have been added' (double verb/relative pronoun omission), 'nowadays which replaced by the roads' (fragmented passive voice), and 'nowadays which have been constructed' (incorrect relative clause structure). Punctuation errors, such as placing full stops before dependent clauses ('sheeping area. which was replaced'), also occur regularly. Due to the high frequency of grammatical slips that disrupt fluency, the grammar score is Band 5.0.
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