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 given plans illustrate how areas of a farm have changed from 1950 to the present.
Overall, large area of sheep grazing changed with solar penals, camping field and parking which makes farm more convenient and contemprory.However, a track was extended into the roads that makes triangle area and connected to the barn.
To begin with, in 1950 there was a large sheep grazing area near to the road. Different tracks were available for people and various section of fruit trees, soft fruits and vegetables along the river side.
After some modifications, big grazing area changed with camping field, two parking and solar penals.Tracks changed with different roads also barn area changed with holiday cottages and barn attached to the roads that are in triangle shape. However vegetables section, soft fruits and fruit trees are remained same but along the road side there are farm shop formed.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The response satisfies most requirements of the task by presenting an overview of the main changes between 1950 and the present at Beechwood Farm, noting key alterations such as the addition of the camping field, parking, and solar panels. However, the word count falls just short of the 150-word minimum, containing only 147 words. Furthermore, some information is missing or partially covered, and the overview lacks a fully developed summary of all major transformations. To achieve a higher band, the response needs to meet the minimum length requirement and provide a more comprehensive, extended overview of the spatial shifts, ensuring all major features such as the farm shop and holiday cottages are integrated more clearly.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The response demonstrates an attempt at logical organisation with paragraphing, beginning with an introduction and overview, followed by body paragraphs detailing the past and present layouts. However, the progression is sometimes mechanical and disjointed. Cohesive devices are used minimally and repetitively (e.g., 'To begin with', 'After some modifications', 'However'), and referencing between sentences is occasionally unclear, such as how the tracks transform into roads. To move up, the writer needs to employ a wider range of cohesive devices more flexibly and ensure a smoother, clearer logical progression throughout the text without abrupt transitions.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is minimally adequate for the task, attempting some topic-specific terms such as 'grazing area', 'solar panels', and 'holiday cottages'. However, there are noticeable lexical errors, awkward word choices, and spelling mistakes that detract from the quality of the response, including 'contemprory' instead of contemporary, 'solar penals' instead of solar panels, and phrasing like 'large area of sheep grazing changed with solar penals'. To improve this score, the writer must expand their vocabulary range, use precise collocation and academic vocabulary, and eliminate spelling and word-form errors.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The response relies on a limited range of sentence structures, with attempts at complex sentences often resulting in faulty grammar and awkward phrasing, such as 'Overall, large area of sheep grazing changed with solar penals... which makes farm more convenient'. There are frequent errors in articles (missing 'a' before 'large area' or 'farm'), prepositions ('changed with' instead of 'replaced by'), and subject-verb agreement or missing relative pronouns. To reach a higher band, the writer needs to demonstrate a greater variety of complex structures with improved accuracy, ensuring that grammatical errors do not frequently recur.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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