Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-02
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 depict the layout of a farm during 1950 and at present.
At first glance, it is clear that in 1950, there was road on north-west direction. The river was also there under the road. Moreover, there was a track in rictangular shape at east side. Barn, farmhouse and chickens were under the track. Sheep was at north east side. Fruits, soft fruits and vegetables were also seen linked with each other.
Moving further, sheep area has replaced and added with parking space, camping field and solar panels. The track has been converted into road. Farm shop have constructed with fruit trees. Then, barn has limited space and has been linked with the road. The area under the road which was occupied by barn is now replaced by holiday cottages. Whereas, farmhouse and chickens retained at the same place.
Overall, many changes have been seen in beachwood farm. The major change in farm is replacement of sheep by adding solar panels, camping fiels and parking space. However, many things remained unchanged.
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 addresses all parts of the task by comparing the two maps of Beechwood Farm, identifying several key changes and constants. However, some aspects of the task are handled more fully than others. While the major transformations in the northern and eastern sections—such as the addition of the camping field, parking spaces, and solar panels—are noted, some descriptions are underdeveloped or lack precision, such as stating that a 'farm shop have constructed with fruit trees' rather than detailing its specific location relative to the newly added features. Overall, the selection of main features is adequate, but a clearer overview and more precise reporting of the spatial relationships would elevate the response further.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0
The text has a coherent overall arrangement with a clear division into an introduction, body paragraphs detailing specific areas, and an overall summary. However, the cohesion between sentences can feel slightly mechanical or repetitive, relying on transitional phrases like 'Moving further' and 'Moreover'. Referencing is sometimes unclear, such as the pronoun use in 'sheep area has replaced and added with', which disrupts the logical flow of ideas. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the different sections of the maps, contributing to the overall progression of information.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, successfully conveying basic spatial and comparative concepts related to the maps. The student attempts some less common vocabulary, such as 'transformed' or specific facility names, but experiences inaccuracies in word choice, form, and collocation, as seen in 'rictangular' (rectangular), 'farm shop have constructed', and 'camping fiels'. These lexical errors and spelling slips do not severely impede communication, but they reflect a limited and occasionally imprecise range of vocabulary that prevents the writing from reaching a higher level.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The writing demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, though attempts at complex structures frequently contain errors. There are notable issues with verb forms, passive voices, and prepositions, such as 'there was road on north-west direction', 'has replaced and added with', and 'farm shop have constructed'. Punctuation and article usage also show inconsistencies. While these errors rarely completely impede communication, their regular presence across different sentence types indicates limited control over complex grammatical structures and places the response within this band.
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