Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-29
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 5.0)
Overall, the farm went through the modernization in the last 70 years. Most major change the farm did was to get rid of sheep area and installing solar panels in some of that area to power the farm. The farm now have two parking areas for people who come for camping and for vacation because farm now has 3 holiday cottages in the exact location where barn was previously located.
Whereas, the size of barn has reduced very much over the years. Also, the size of vegetables, soft fruits and fruit tree fields has stayed the same but an addition of farm shop in fruit tree area can be seen in the drawing.
Meanwhile, the chicken shed is in same place and have same size as it was in 1950 and the track that covered whole farm has now been replaced by a proper road now.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0
The response attempts to summarise the main changes between the 1950 and current farm plans, noting the removal of the sheep area, the addition of solar panels, a farm shop, holiday cottages, and parking spaces. However, the student makes several factual inaccuracies based on the visual data. For instance, the text states that 'size of barn has reduced very much over the years' when the barn appears to remain largely unchanged, and incorrectly claims that the holiday cottages are located in the 'exact location where barn was previously located' (the barn is further south). Additionally, the response falls short of the 150-word minimum requirement at 146 words, which impacts the task score. Overall, while the main features are identified, the inaccuracies and under-length issue restrict the score to Band 5.0.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0
The text is organised into three paragraphs, providing an introduction and two body paragraphs covering various modifications to the site. However, the overall progression is somewhat disjointed, and cohesive devices are rather basic or occasionally awkward, such as 'Whereas,' starting a sentence fragment and 'Meanwhile,' used mechanically. Paragraphing is attempted, but grouping ideas could be more logical (e.g., separating accommodations and agricultural changes). Referencing is sometimes unclear, such as pronoun use referring to the farm's features. These limitations place the response firmly in Band 5.0 for Coherence and Cohesion.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary to describe the visual data, using terms like 'modernization', 'solar panels', 'holiday cottages', and 'vegetables'. However, word choice and collocation errors are noticeable, such as 'Most major change' (missing an article), 'sheep area' (instead of pasture or sheep grazing area), and 'installing solar panels in some of that area'. There are also awkward phrasings like 'farm now have' (agreement error, but lexical in nature regarding singular/plural context) and 'track that covered whole farm'. The range is sufficient for the task but limited, justifying a Band 5.0.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as relative clauses ('for people who come for camping...') and subordinate clauses ('Whereas, the size of barn has reduced...'). However, grammatical accuracy is weak with frequent errors throughout the text. Examples include missing articles ('went through the modernization', 'in fruit tree area', 'in same place'), subject-verb agreement issues ('farm now have'), and awkward preposition usage ('over the years' used alongside present/past tense confusion). These frequent errors can cause some difficulty for the reader and reflect a Band 5.0 level.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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