Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-15

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 provided maps illustrate the previous beechwood farm in 1950 and how it transformed over the time.

Overall, in the year 1950 beechwood farm had less facilities. However, it transformed over the years new objects are initiated these days such as solar panels, camping field,barn and many other facilities.

Regarding the infrastructure, new elements are initiated such as solar panels in north east,camping field north side and parking in a replacement of sheep's. Similarly with barn, it is replace by holiday cottages in addition barn is located infront of roads.The most prominent developments involved the expansion of farm shop near by fruit trees in west.

shifting attention to the centeral area of map.There is slightly change such as track is replace by roads.However other elements remain the same.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the maps as a comparison between 1950 and today and mention several genuine changes, including solar panels, a camping field, parking and the farm shop. However, the overview is vague, and some details are inaccurate or unclear: the sheep area is replaced by the camping field and solar panels, not by parking; the barn is not replaced by holiday cottages, as both remain, with the cottages added near the farmhouse. The claim that the central area changed only slightly also overlooks the new road layout and the retention of the fruit, soft-fruit and vegetable plots. The response is 22 words below the required minimum, which limits the detail available. A clearer overview and accurate comparisons of the main changes would strengthen the report.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a basic overall structure: an introduction, an overview and two body paragraphs. This gives the reader a general sense of the comparison, and phrases such as “Regarding the infrastructure” and “shifting attention to the central area” signal a change of focus. However, progression is uneven because the body paragraphs group features loosely, and some links are difficult to follow. For example, “Similarly with barn, it is replace by holiday cottages in addition barn…” combines several claims without clearly showing their relationship. The final paragraph says other elements remain the same but does not specify them. Organise the report into clear groups—western agricultural areas and eastern developments—and use linking phrases to show what was retained, relocated or added.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant map vocabulary, including “solar panels,” “camping field,” “parking,” “farm shop” and “fruit trees,” so the reader can identify several features. However, the range is limited and some word choices or collocations make the meaning imprecise. “New objects are initiated” is not a natural way to describe additions to a site; “new facilities were introduced” would be clearer. Likewise, “in a replacement of sheep’s” and “expansion of farm shop” do not accurately express the changes. Spelling and word-form errors such as “centeral” and “near by” are noticeable. Build a more precise set of verbs for map changes, such as “added,” “converted,” “retained” and “relocated,” and check spelling and collocations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including “However, it transformed over the years…” and “Similarly with barn…,” but control is inconsistent. Errors in verb forms and sentence construction occur in examples such as “it is replace,” “new objects are initiated,” and “There is slightly change.” Articles and plurals are also often missing or incorrect, as in “near by fruit trees” and “sheep’s.” Several sentences lack clear punctuation or a complete grammatical structure, particularly “shifting attention to the centeral area of map.” These problems sometimes make relationships between features difficult to understand. Practise accurate past and present passive forms for describing changes, and check each sentence for a subject, a correctly formed verb, articles and sentence-ending punctuation.

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