Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-01

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 illustrate how the layout of Beechwood Farm has changed from 1950 to the present day.

Overall, Beechwood Farm has undergone significant redevelopment, with several new facilities beeing constructed, existing aminities are expanded or replaced and some features are relocated to different position, while certain elements have remained unchanged.

Regarding new construction and modifications, a parking area, camping field and solar panels are added at sheep. Farm shop is introduced in fruit shop. Holiday cottages are buid in replacement of barn. Track is converted into road.

In tearms of relocation and unchanged features. Barn is relocated to mid point of road However soft fruits, vegetables, chickens and farmhouse have remained unchanged throughout the period.Fram has become more developed and visitor-oriented.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses the task by outlining some main changes between 1950 and the present day at Beechwood Farm, such as the introduction of a farm shop, camping field, and holiday cottages. However, the response falls well below the 150-word minimum length requirement, containing only 121 words, which significantly restricts the extent to which the visual data can be covered. While an overview is attempted at the end of the text, the selection of features is limited, and several details are underdeveloped or inaccurate, such as stating that a barn was built in replacement of holiday cottages or incorrectly referencing locations like 'at sheep' and 'in fruit shop'.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

There is a basic overall arrangement with an introduction, body sections, and a concluding sentence, but the progression of ideas is hindered by choppy, fragmented paragraphing. Cohesive devices are used minimally or somewhat inaccurately, such as 'Regarding new construction and modifications,' and 'In tearms of relocation and unchanged features,' which creates a mechanical feel rather than a smooth, logical flow. Referencing is occasionally unclear, and the layout lacks the cohesive links required for a higher band, resulting in an overall structure that feels disjointed and relies heavily on isolated bullet-like sentences rather than flowing paragraphs.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate to convey basic information about the maps, but the range is limited and repetition occurs. There are several noticeable lexical errors, including spelling mistakes like 'beeing' and 'aminities' (amenities), 'tearms' (terms), and 'buid' (built), as well as unnatural word choices and collocations such as 'added at sheep' and 'mid point of road'. These inaccuracies occasionally cause some difficulty for the reader and prevent the vocabulary from achieving the flexibility and precision expected at higher bands.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but control over grammar and punctuation is inconsistent. There are frequent errors in verb forms, passive structures, and subject-verb agreement, such as 'are added,' 'are buid in replacement of,' and 'existing aminities are expanded or replaced,' which lack parallel tense consistency. Punctuation errors and awkward phrasings are also present, including sentence fragments and comma splices. While these errors do not completely obscure the overall meaning, they occur frequently enough to impact readability and lower the grammatical score.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

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