Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-14

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)

In both the site view we can clearly see the basic groundwork remained the same. The major change is that over the years the facilities have increased overall. We cn award this to the growing population, enhanced civilization, the demand for increasing quality of life. We can see that 4 places remained the same. The place for sheep was changed, been converted to a campling site, parking lot, and a solar panel park. Aside from these things we can see that relaxation or living areas have been added. A farm shop to sell the fruits and vegs have also been constructed. A barn has been added to increase the livestocks. Camping field has been added, it can be used as a retreat for some families while also as a educational visit for some schools. The track has been refined into proper roads for commute. The old barn area was converted into holiday cottages.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the broad change from a mainly agricultural site to one with more visitor facilities, and you mention several relevant developments, including the farm shop, camping field, roads and holiday cottages. However, some key details are inaccurate or unclear: the barn was already present in 1950, so it was not “added”; the old barn area was not converted into cottages, as the barn remains and the cottages are nearby. The claim that “4 places remained the same” is not explained, and the sheep area is described as becoming several facilities without clarifying their locations. The overview is relevant but would be stronger if it accurately summarised the main changes and retained features, with less speculation about population and schools.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

The response has a recognisable overall direction: it begins with a general comparison and then lists changes. However, it is presented as one paragraph, and the ideas do not develop in a clear spatial or chronological order. For example, the sheep area’s replacement is followed by general comments about living areas, then the shop, barn, camping field, roads and cottages, without grouping related features. Linking phrases such as “Aside from these things” and “also” provide some connection, but the sequence remains list-like and some references, including “4 places,” are unclear. Organise the report into an overview and two detail paragraphs, grouping changes by area and using precise location references.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant vocabulary for describing land use and development, including “converted,” “facilities,” “holiday cottages” and “farm shop.” This gives you an adequate basis for the task, but several choices are imprecise or informal for an academic map report. “Basic groundwork” does not clearly describe the site’s layout, while “relaxation or living areas” is vague. There are also spelling and word-form errors, such as “campling,” “vegs” and “livestocks,” and “civilization” is not a suitable explanation of the changes shown. Aim for precise map vocabulary, such as “land use,” “visitor facilities,” “agricultural plots” and “internal roads,” and avoid adding unsupported interpretations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple statements and longer sentences, and the main message is generally understandable. However, some grammatical errors make relationships between features unclear. For example, “The place for sheep was changed, been converted to…” has an incorrect verb construction; use “The area used for sheep was converted into…”. In “A farm shop to sell the fruits and vegs have also been constructed,” the subject and verb do not agree, and the infinitive phrase is awkwardly attached. “The track has been refined into proper roads” also uses an unsuitable grammatical pattern for describing a map change. Use accurate past and present forms consistently, check subject–verb agreement, and build longer sentences around clear clauses.

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