Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)

The plan below illustrates the changes to the site of the farm in 1950 and today.

Overall, the farm has undergone considerable development, with several new facilities being introduced and some original features being removed or replaced. The most noticeable changes are the construction of new buildings and the expansion of the farm’s facilities.

In 1950, the site was relatively simple and contained agricultural land and a farmhouse. The site also has an area in which they keep their sheep and a few tracks. There is also a free space for chickens where they live and lay eggs. The farmland occupied a substantial proportion of the area, while the remaining space was used for other agricultural activities.

Today, the site has been significantly modernised. The tracks have been converted into modern roads. The agricultural land also has its own shop. Furthermore, solar panels are installed, and the original farmhouse has been retained, although its surrounding area has been altered. There is also a camping field present in front of the agricultural land.

Overall, the comparison demonstrates a clear transition from a relatively basic agricultural site in 1950 to a more developed and multifunctional farm today.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response covers the main features of both maps, noting key developments such as the addition of the farm shop, solar panels, and camping field, alongside the persistence of the original farmhouse. However, the evaluation sits at this level because some parts of the task are handled rather superficially, and key details like the holiday cottages and the conversion of sheep areas into new facilities are missed. Furthermore, there is a tendency to repeat the overall summary statement ('Overall, the farm has undergone...' and 'Overall, the comparison demonstrates...'), which suggests a lack of fully extended and supported ideas. To reach higher bands, the response would need to provide a more thorough, balanced comparison of all significant features across both time periods without omitting major structural changes.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The text displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction and conclusion. Paragraphing is utilised to separate the general overview from specific details of the past and present layouts. However, cohesion at times feels mechanical or repetitive, such as the consecutive use of 'There is also' in the third paragraph, and referencing is not always completely smooth. Logical progression is evident as the reader is guided from 1950 to the present day, but the transitions between sentences could be more varied and sophisticated. To achieve a higher band, the writer needs to employ a wider and more flexible range of cohesive devices while ensuring that paragraph links are natural and unobtrusive rather than formulaic.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, successfully conveying basic meanings regarding the transformation of the farm. The writer attempts some less common vocabulary such as 'considerable development', 'significantly modernised', and 'multifunctional farm', demonstrating an acceptable range. Nevertheless, there are some minor word-choice and collocation limitations, such as referring to a 'free space for chickens where they live and lay eggs', which sounds slightly unnatural. Spelling and word formation are generally accurate and do not impede communication. To move into a higher band, the student should incorporate more precise, topic-specific lexical items relating to map analysis and urban or rural planning with greater stylistic flexibility.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

The response demonstrates a reliable mix of simple and complex sentence forms, comfortably exceeding the requirements for this band. Sentences such as 'The plan below illustrates the changes to the site of the farm in 1950 and today' and passive constructions like 'the original farmhouse has been retained' are handled accurately. There are some minor grammatical slips and awkward tense shifts, particularly when moving between the historical description and the present state, such as 'the site also has an area in which they keep their sheep'. However, these errors rarely impede communication and the majority of simple structures are error-free. To progress further, the writer should aim for a higher frequency of error-free complex sentences and finer control over tense consistency when describing temporal data.

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

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