Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-28
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 maps compare the location of the Beechwood farm after numerous developments over the years.
Overall, the farm has undergone a number of advancements from installing new technology to better infrastructure. Previously, the farm has a poorly organized site, with lack of plantation and underconstructed roads.
The site map of the farm in 1950 represents a track from main road to farm which appears to be rocky and poorly constructed. It has only the basic infrastructure needed to keep the farm working. It lacks parking lot which might be due to the fact that the path to farm doesn't support vehicles. Also electricity could be a major issue, which was later solved by installing solar panels.
In present times, the farm has all the necessary facilities; the solar panels are installed for electricity supply, two parking areas has also been build, which shows that the path has now fully manufactured to working roads. There has also some noticeable plantation in the camping field which makes the farm environmentally sustainable. Moreover, the farm has holiday cottages that might attract tourist, and could generate the revenue. Additionally, there is a farm shop for soveniours for the visitors, another source of income.
It can be concluded that, the farm has been commercialized in recent time, and has become a holiday play for tourists, which might be attractive since its both representative of nature as well as support basic life necessities.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0
The student attempts to describe the two maps of Beechwood farm, noting changes such as the addition of solar panels, parking areas, and holiday cottages. However, the response falls short of fully addressing the visual data because it drifts into speculation and subjective commentary rather than focusing on objective reporting of map features. For example, stating that the 1950 track 'appears to be rocky' or that cottages 'might attract tourist, and could generate the revenue' introduces outside assumptions rather than summarising the provided information. Furthermore, key geographical shifts—such as the conversion of the sheep area into a camping field or the addition of a farm shop—are only cursorily mentioned or missed entirely. The response lacks a clear, data-driven overview of the layout changes as a whole, resulting in a partial treatment of the task requirements.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The essay is divided into paragraphs, starting with an introduction, followed by body paragraphs discussing the past and present, and a brief conclusion. However, the logical progression is occasionally hindered by abrupt transitions and a lack of sophisticated cohesive devices. While basic linking words like 'Previously', 'In present times', and 'Additionally' are used, referencing and cohesive ties within paragraphs can feel mechanical. For instance, moving from the 1950 map details to speculative assertions about electricity creates a disjointed flow. Paragraphing is attempted, but the internal structuring of ideas lacks the smooth progression expected at higher band levels.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The lexical range is somewhat limited and repetitive, though it is minimally adequate for the task. The student successfully deploys some topic-related vocabulary such as 'infrastructure', 'solar panels', 'plantation', and 'commercialized'. However, there are notable word choice and spelling inaccuracies, such as 'soveniours' (souvenirs), 'holiday play' (holiday place), and 'fully manufactured' instead of paved or surfaced roads. Collocations are occasionally unnatural, such as 'underconstructed roads' or 'lack of plantation' when referring to natural vegetation. These errors do not completely impede communication, but they restrict the lexical score to a band 5.5.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but grammatical accuracy is inconsistent. There are several noticeable errors in tense consistency, article usage, and prepositions. For example, the student writes 'Previously, the farm has a poorly organized site' (past tense needed) and 'two parking areas has also been build' (subject-verb agreement error and incorrect passive participle 'built'). Other errors include 'path to farm doesn't support vehicles' (missing article) and 'there has also some noticeable plantation' (incorrect existential structure). While some complex sentences are formed, frequent errors in basic and complex structures cause some difficulty for the reader.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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