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 given plans illustrate how the farm has been developed significantly since 1950.
Overall, the farm has been shifted from traditional places where track has been replaced with road along with numerous facilities for examples farm shop, camping field with solar panel and have been a holiday cottages.
In current plan, track has been converted into the road, whereas, on the right side of the road, farm shop has been added in the fruit trees region. Next to it, soft fruit is consistent since 1950, and, similar to the soft fruit, vegetables has remained it's original position without any modification.
On the left side, the sheep region has been modified. The initial point of the track, parking area has been added, beside this there is camping field was established and in the north-west corner power plant has been installed with the small parking area.
Furthermore, on the right side of the terminal point of the road Barn has been replaced by the holiday cottage, and set beside the vegetable area. Next to the holiday cottage, there have been no changed in the farmhouse and chickens. Meanwhile, the river has stayed in its original position along the southern, western, and eastern edges, since 1950s.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0
The response successfully addresses all parts of the task by identifying the main developments and making relevant comparisons between the 1950 map and today's plan. You provide a clear overview in your second paragraph, noting the major transition from tracks to roads and the addition of commercial and recreational amenities like the farm shop, camping field, and holiday cottages. However, some parts of the response are under-developed or contain inaccuracies. For instance, your description of the fruit trees and soft fruits region is slightly confused, and mentioning that a 'power plant has been installed' misinterprets the solar panels shown in the north-east corner. While the main features are covered, a more precise selection of details would lift this aspect further.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0
The essay has a coherent overall arrangement with a clear paragraph structure separating the introduction, overview, and body paragraphs dedicated to different areas of the map. You make use of cohesive devices to guide the reader through the comparison, such as 'In current plan', 'On the left side', and 'Furthermore'. However, cohesion is sometimes faulty or mechanical, and referencing is not always completely clear. For example, sentences like 'Next to it, soft fruit is consistent since 1950' lack smooth transitions, and some pronoun references or linking phrases feel slightly awkward, which occasionally disrupts the logical flow between ideas.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common terms such as 'developed significantly', 'modification', and 'terminal point'. However, there are several word choice, collocation, and phrasing errors that restrict your score, such as writing 'the farm has been shifted' instead of 'transformed', or 'power plant' for solar panels. There are also some minor awkward collocations like 'vegetables has remained it's original position'. While these inaccuracies do not seriously impede communication, they highlight a limited precision in vocabulary control that prevents you from reaching a higher band.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
Your response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, attempting structures such as passive voice ('has been replaced', 'has been converted') and prepositional phrases. However, there are frequent errors in grammar, punctuation, and article usage throughout the text. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues like 'vegetables has remained it's original position' (where 'its' is also incorrectly spelled with an apostrophe), missing articles before singular nouns ('farm shop', 'camping field'), and awkward clause structures such as 'there is camping field was established'. These errors require some effort from the reader to parse, though they rarely obscure the overall meaning.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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