Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-09-30
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 given map illutrate the difference made on the site of a farm today compared to 1950. Overall, Beechwood farm was limited with several shops and infrastructure. However, today there are additional facilities added and sheep area got completely replaced by camping section and parking.
In 1950, it was designed in a structured way where north west side was a raod and below it was a fruit trees, soft fruits and next to that were vegetables section. Riven was ongoing via from north east to south to north east side guarding boundries to nature products. Track was constructed to move barn side easily. Farmhouse and chickens located at southern east side. Sheep were simple at north side in a huge area.
Apparently, today there are more opportunities and additional features added. Solar panels installed at north east side with parking just below them. Moreover, camping field with parking constructed at sheep area. In fruit trees section there is a farm shop added and the track replaced by a proper road facility connecting barn and helping to reach new holiday cottages.
Farm house and chickens remained at same spot.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The student attempts to summarise the main features of the maps, noting the transformation of Beechwood Farm from 1950 to the present day. An overview is provided in the first paragraph, mentioning the addition of shops, infrastructure, and the replacement of the sheep area. Key changes are highlighted, such as the new camping field, parking lots, farm shop, solar panels, and holiday cottages, while correctly observing that the farmhouse and chickens remain in the same location. However, the response suffers from some factual inaccuracies and omissions regarding the spatial layout. For example, the text states that 'north west side was a raod', whereas the map shows a road crossing the upper-left with fruit trees and soft fruits below it. Additionally, there are minor typos in geographic references, such as 'southern east side'. Despite these limitations, the candidate successfully contrasts the two time periods and covers the main features.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The response is divided into four paragraphs, including a brief introduction and an overview. There is a discernible overall progression from describing the past layout in 1950 to detailing modern modifications today. However, logical flow is occasionally disrupted by awkward transitions and confusing sentence structures, such as 'Riven was ongoing via from north east to south to north east side guarding boundries to nature products.' Cohesive devices are used, but their application is sometimes mechanical or inaccurate. Paragraphing is attempted to separate the past and present periods, though the body paragraphs could be structured more cleanly to ensure a smoother comparison between the two maps.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common words and topic-specific terms such as 'infrastructure', 'replacement', 'solar panels', and 'holiday cottages'. However, there are numerous lexical and spelling errors throughout the text, including 'illutrate' instead of 'illustrate', 'raod' instead of 'road', 'Riven' instead of 'River', and 'southern east side' instead of 'southeast'. Word choice is sometimes unnatural, such as 'sheep were simple at north side'. These errors indicate a limited lexical control that occasionally detracts from the clarity of the description.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The candidate attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, though complex structures are often faulty or awkward. Examples of grammatical inaccuracies include 'Overall, Beechwood farm was limited with several shops and infrastructure' and 'the track replaced by a proper road facility connecting barn and helping to reach new holiday cottages.' Punctuation and article usage are inconsistent, and prepositions are frequently misused, such as 'at southern east side' and 'at north side'. While meaning is generally recoverable despite these frequent errors, the grammatical control corresponds to a Band 5 level.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.