Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-10

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 diagrams illustrates information about a Beechwood farm in 1950 and the similar Beechwood farm today.

Overall, through the digram we can observe several changes being made to this Beechwood farm since 1950 till date. Earlier in 1950, the farm used to be quite simple with three sections of plantation, a big plan field to keep the sheeps, a barn, a farmhouse and a shed to keep the chickens. Back in 1950 the there were only tracks in the farm no roads.

However, today the Beechwood farm has been completely refurbished and tranformed. We can see some of the major developments that has taken place like the tracks have become roads now. In the fruit trees section there is a farm shop introduced now. The space for the sheeps has been abandoned. There is are two parking spots now and sheeps area is converted to camping field.

In the Beechwood farm we can also observe some new things that are installed like Solar panels, the barn is also relocated to the intersection point of the road.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the main contrast between the simpler 1950 farm and its more developed present-day use, and you report several relevant changes, including the new farm shop, two parking areas, solar panels and the conversion of the sheep field to camping. However, the account is only partly complete: it does not mention the holiday cottages, and it gives little detail about the retained fruit, soft-fruit and vegetable areas or the farmhouse and chicken enclosure. The claim that the barn moved “to the intersection point of the road” is imprecise; today it is positioned at the southern end of a road junction. A clearer overview of the major land-use changes, followed by more precise comparisons of locations, would make the response more fully informative.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview of the earlier farm, and paragraphs describing present-day changes. This gives the reader a basic progression from past to present. Linking expressions such as “Overall,” “However,” and “also” help signal the stages of the description. However, the organisation is not consistently clear: the sheep-field change is mentioned twice, and the final paragraph introduces new features without explaining their locations or connecting them to the earlier description. Some references, such as “some new things,” are vague. Grouping changes by area or by what was retained and what was added, and using clearer location references, would improve the flow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a relevant range of basic map vocabulary, including “plantation,” “tracks,” “farmhouse,” “parking spots,” and “solar panels,” so the main changes can generally be understood. There are also attempts at more descriptive language, such as “completely refurbished.” However, several choices are inaccurate or informal for this task: “big plan field” is unclear, “shed” does not match the labelled chicken enclosure, and “things that are installed” is vague. Spelling errors in “digram” and “tranformed,” along with the repeated use of “sheeps,” reduce precision. Choose exact map terms such as “open field” and “enclosure,” and use concise, neutral wording to describe developments.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more extended sentence forms, including “Earlier in 1950, the farm used to be quite simple with…” and “We can see some of the major developments that has taken place…”. However, errors occur frequently enough to make some sentences awkward or unclear. For example, “The diagrams illustrates” has subject–verb disagreement, while “There is are two parking spots” contains an incorrect verb form. “The farm used to be” is also less suitable for describing a map, and “Back in 1950 the there were” has a faulty construction. Work on agreement, articles and past-versus-present forms, and proofread each sentence. More accurate simple sentences would help before adding complex structures.

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

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