Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-11

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 plans below illustrate the changes of a farm called the Beechwood Farm in today and how it was in 1950

Overall, Some major changes happend in barn, track and sheep.Another noticeable thing is that some other new facilities has been added to the farm including farm shop, holiday cottages, parking area, camping field and solar panels.

The first major change is that in today there are some roads which has been switched with track in 1950 while, barn has been replaced with holiday cottages However, barn has been shifted and it has been added with road.

Sheep has been removed and new facilities has been added there with a camping field with a tree and some solar panels.Adding that, few parking slots has been upgraded in today and a farm shop in the area of fruit trees has been added.Thus, fruit trees, soft fruits, vegetables, chikens and farmhouse remained unchanged

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response6.0
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the main overall transformation: the farm has gained facilities such as a shop, cottages, parking, a camping field and solar panels, while sheep have disappeared. You also note that the fruit trees, soft fruits, vegetables, farmhouse and chicken area remain. These are relevant comparisons and give the response a clear overview. However, some details are inaccurate or unclear: the barn was not replaced by the cottages; it remains, but is relocated to the south-west of the farmhouse. The cottages are a new feature south of the eastern road. The sheep area is replaced mainly by the camping field and solar panels, while the road network has changed from tracks. Develop these spatial relationships more precisely to make the key changes fully clear.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an overview followed by paragraphs describing changes, and the ideas are generally grouped by topic. Linking expressions such as “Overall,” “However,” and “Adding that” show an attempt to connect information. However, progression within the body is sometimes difficult to follow: the sentence about the barn combines its relocation, the cottages and the road without clearly distinguishing them. “Thus” also introduces the unchanged features abruptly, and “Another noticeable thing” is vague. Use clearer sequencing and references, for example, first describing the western fields and new shop, then the northern camping area, and finally the eastern buildings and roads. This would make the comparisons easier to track.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant map vocabulary, including “facilities,” “parking area,” “camping field,” “solar panels,” and “remained unchanged,” so the reader can understand the general subject and several key changes. There is also some variety in how you refer to additions and removals. However, a number of choices are imprecise or unnatural, such as “switched with track,” “shifted,” and “parking slots has been upgraded.” “Major changes happend in barn, track and sheep” is also too vague to describe the developments accurately. Spelling errors such as “happend” and “chikens” reduce accuracy. Prefer precise map language such as “replaced by,” “relocated,” and “parking areas were added,” and check spelling carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including a contrast with “while” and “However,” and the overall meaning is usually recoverable. Nevertheless, errors in agreement, tense, articles and sentence construction are frequent enough to make some relationships unclear. For example, “some roads which has been switched” needs plural agreement and a clearer tense, while “some other new facilities has been added” also has a subject–verb agreement error. The opening phrase “in today and how it was in 1950” is not grammatically well formed, and “Thus, fruit trees … remained unchanged” is attached awkwardly to the preceding sentence. Practise accurate past-to-present comparisons and check that each sentence has a clear subject and correctly matched verb.

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