Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-06

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 6.5)

The plans illustrate the site of a farm in 1950 and how it is today.

Overall, the changes have seen increasing commercialisation with the addition of a farm shop, holiday cottages and parking spaces. Tracks that ran across the fields have been turned into roads and where once the sheeps grazed, there is now a camping field and solar panels.

In 1950, the map shows that on the right side of the river there were three fields for fruit trees, soft fruit and vegetables respectively. A track would divide the fields from the other side where sheeps would graze. Further on the right of the triangular track connection, there was a barn that in its vicinity had the farmhouse and a small allocated area for the chickens.

Today, the three fields remain however the area for the fruit trees has a farm shop that was not present before. The track system has been replaced by roads and where the sheeps used to roam, the area has seen massive changes where there is now a parking space, camping field and an area for solar panels where near it there is an additional parking space. The farmhouse and the space for chickens remain as they were in the right of the area where the three roads meet. The barn has changed locations and now it is on the southern junction of the two roads, as its previous building has become cottages for holidays.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.5

The response gives a clear overview of the main transformation: the farm has become more commercial, with a shop, holiday accommodation and parking, while the former sheep area now includes camping and solar panels. It also covers the retained fields, farmhouse and chicken enclosure, and notes the barn’s relocation. These are relevant, well-selected comparisons. Some details are imprecise, however: the three fields are not simply unchanged, since the shop is added beside the fruit trees, and the description of the farmhouse as being “where the three roads meet” does not accurately locate it. The account of the 1950 track and field arrangement is also somewhat general. More precise spatial comparisons and clearer identification of what was retained, added or relocated would strengthen an otherwise well-focused summary.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The four-paragraph structure is appropriate, moving from an introduction and overview to the two time periods, and the main changes are generally easy to follow. Linking phrases such as “Overall,” “In 1950,” and “Today” help signal the organisation. However, some connections are mechanical or unclear. In the overview, “where once the sheeps grazed” is followed by several new features without a clear spatial relationship. The final paragraph also strings together many changes in one long sentence, making the sequence of parking, camping, solar panels and the additional parking harder to track. References such as “the other side” and “near it” are not sufficiently precise. Use shorter units and clearer location-based transitions to make the progression more controlled.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

There is an adequate range for describing map changes, including “commercialisation,” “triangular track connection,” “replaced,” and “additional parking space.” These choices allow the response to convey both development and location, and the meaning is generally clear. Some wording is imprecise or unnatural, though: “sheeps” is not the correct plural, “in its vicinity had” is awkward, and “space for the chickens” is less exact than a term such as “chicken enclosure.” “Massive changes” is also broad and informal for an academic map summary. Greater precision in describing positions and land use, alongside more natural collocations, would show the flexibility expected at a stronger level.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

The response uses a mix of simple and more complex structures, including the overview sentence beginning “where once…” and the contrast “where the sheeps used to roam.” Most sentences communicate the intended changes, and errors rarely prevent understanding. Some grammatical control is still uneven. For example, “there were three fields … respectively” has an awkward construction, while “A track would divide the fields from the other side” uses an unsuitable modal form for describing a past map. The final sentence is overloaded, with several clauses joined together, and “the farmhouse and the space for chickens remain as they were in the right of the area” has an unclear grammatical relationship between the elements. Aim for more consistently accurate sentence patterns and divide complex descriptions into clearer sentences.

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

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