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 map below illustrates how Beechwood farm has changed from 1950 to the present day.

Overall, the site has experienced significant changes over the years, transforming from a purely agricultural farm into a ocmmercial and tourist-friendly area. While some farming areas remain, modern facilities like parking areas, holiday cottages, and camping fields have been added.

In 1950, the farm was divided into several agricultural areas like fruit trees, soft trees, and vegetables. These were located beside the main road and river on the back side. On the further side, there was a track attached to the agricultural areas and on the right it turned into a triangle shape in the middle of the track. There was a large field with sheep on the other side of the track area and alongside with the agriculatural area, there was a barn, farmhousa, and chickens on the field.

Today, the main road remained the same. The track turned into a road and the agricultural side also remained same. On the fruit trees side, a new farm house is added. Morever, a barn is added exact on the side of the triangle shape road. On the other side, there's a parking lot on left, a camping field in the middle, and solar panels in the right side with another parking lot. The far house and the chickens remained the same but they made a site for holiday cottages instead of the barn.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You provide a relevant overview by identifying the shift from farming towards tourism and commerce, and you note that some agricultural uses remain. You also mention several important new features, including parking, camping, solar panels and holiday cottages. However, some details are inaccurate or unclear: the farm shop is not mentioned, and the new farmhouse you place beside the fruit trees is actually the original farmhouse, still south of the cottages. The barn was already present in 1950; today it remains but is positioned at the southern road junction, rather than being newly added. The description of the original layout is also difficult to follow. To strengthen the response, compare the locations and changes more precisely, including the sheep field’s replacement by new facilities.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, an overview, and separate paragraphs for 1950 and today. This makes the broad time sequence easy to follow, and phrases such as “In 1950” and “Today” help signal the comparison. However, progression within the map descriptions is sometimes unclear. For example, “On the further side” and “on the other side” do not identify which side or direction is meant, while “the agricultural side also remained same” is too general to connect the features clearly. The final sentence combines several changes without a clear distinction between what stayed and what was replaced. Grouping features by location and using clearer references such as “to the north-east” would make the account more cohesive.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant map vocabulary, including “agricultural areas,” “parking lot,” “camping field,” and “holiday cottages,” and the contrast between “remain” and “added” helps express change. However, the range and precision are limited, with repeated general terms such as “side,” “area,” and “added.” Some choices are inaccurate or awkward: “soft trees” should refer to soft fruits, and “triangle shape” is better expressed as a triangular junction. There are also noticeable spelling errors, including “ocmmercial,” “agriculatural,” “farmhousa,” and “Morever.” These errors do not prevent understanding overall, but careful proofreading and more precise location vocabulary would improve clarity and control.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and more complex sentences, including the overview sentence beginning “While some farming areas remain,” and most of your meaning can be understood. However, some grammatical errors recur. For example, “the main road remained the same” uses a past-tense verb for the present-day map, and “the agricultural side also remained same” is missing an article. In “a new farm house is added,” the passive construction is not formed appropriately for describing a completed change; “has been added” would be more suitable, though the feature itself is misidentified. Sentence boundaries and punctuation also need attention, particularly in the long final sentence, which joins several ideas. More consistent tense use and accurate articles would improve control.

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