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 shifted from traditional places where the track has been replaced with road along with numerous facilities for example farm shop, camping field with solar panels and there have been holiday cottages.

In the current plan, track has been converted into the road, whereas on the right side of the road, a farm shop has been added in the fruit trees region. Next to it, soft fruit has remained since 1950, and similar to the soft fruit, vegetables have remained its original position without any modification.

On the left side, the sheep region has been modified. The initial point of the track; a parking area has been added, beside it there was a camping field was established and in the north-west corner, a power plant has been installed and a small parking area.

Furthermore, on the right side of the terminal point of the road, the Barn has been replaced by the holiday cottage and has been set beside the vegetable area. Next to the holiday cottage, there have been no changes in the farmhouse and chickens. Meanwhile, the river has stayed in its original position along the southern, western, and eastern edges, since the 1950s.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses all parts of the task by identifying major changes and making comparisons between 1950 and today. However, some key features are under-developed or inaccurately described. For instance, the sheep area is mentioned as having a camping field and power plant, whereas the source visual shows solar panels and a camping field replacing the former sheep pasture. Additionally, the overview is somewhat mechanical and lists specific details rather than capturing broader overarching trends. While main changes such as the introduction of the farm shop, holiday cottages, and the replacement of tracks with roads are noted, the lack of precision in locating and describing these features keeps the response at this level. To reach a higher level, the writer should ensure all major spatial transformations are reported accurately and provide a more synthesised, holistic overview of the primary modifications.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a coherent overall arrangement and attempts a logical progression, dividing information into an introduction, an overview, and subsequent body paragraphs focusing on different areas of the map. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct geographical zones. However, cohesion is sometimes faulty or mechanical. Transition phrases such as 'In the current plan', 'On the left side', and 'Furthermore' are used repetitively, and referencing is occasionally unclear, such as when pronouns or relational phrases like 'similar to the soft fruit' create ambiguity. The flow between sentences could be smoother to establish clearer logical links. To improve, the writer should employ a wider and more flexible range of cohesive devices and ensure that referencing clearly connects ideas across sentences without relying on repetitive transitional formulas.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate to communicate basic information about the maps, with attempts at less common items such as 'significant', 'modified', and 'terminal point'. However, there are noticeable lexical inaccuracies and awkward phrasing throughout the text, such as 'traditional places', 'soft fruit has remained since 1950' (omitting plural 's'), and 'power plant has been installed' (when the plan shows solar panels). Word choice and collocation issues occasionally strain clarity. To achieve a higher score, the writer needs to incorporate a wider and more precise range of vocabulary related to urban and rural planning changes, such as 'converted', 'transformed', 'relocated', and 'expansion', while ensuring greater accuracy in word form and collocation.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, attempting relative clauses and participial phrases, such as 'plans illustrate how the farm has been developed' and 'track has been converted into the road'. However, there are frequent errors in grammar and punctuation. Issues include missing articles ('into the road' instead of 'into a road', 'in the fruit trees region'), incorrect verb tenses and passive forms ('a camping field was established and in the north-west corner, a power plant has been installed'), and punctuation errors that affect sentence boundaries. These errors require some effort to decode. To progress, the writer must focus on improving grammatical accuracy, particularly regarding article usage, subject-verb agreement, and consistent tense control when describing visual data.

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

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