Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-20

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 5.0)

The given map illustrates the site of Beechwood Farm in 1950, and the same site today.

Overall, the farm is very developed in the given time period; the major changes are holiday cottages, solar panels, and a camping field. The track was changed into a road.

On the left side of the map, add a farm shop in the section of fruit trees. The soft fruits and vegetables area remained the same, the location barn was converted into holiday cottages. The track, which was in the middle of the farm, was upgraded into the a road. The barn is now located beside the farmhouse.

The sheep area in the upper-right corner is now divided into two sections on the right side; there are solar panels and also a new parking in the section.On the right side, this area is now a camping field with tents in it, and also a new parking area.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.0
Coherence and Cohesion5.0
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.0

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify the maps’ subject and give an overview of major additions, including holiday cottages, solar panels and a camping field, as well as the track becoming a road. However, the report only partially covers the changes and includes inaccurate or unclear details. The fruit trees did not become the farm shop: the shop is a separate feature beside them. The soft-fruit and vegetable plots remained in their general locations, but this is not explained with enough comparison. The former barn was not converted into cottages; the cottages are south of the eastbound road, while the barn remains elsewhere on the site. The response contains 145 words, five below the 150-word minimum; eight words copied from the prompt are excluded. Add accurate details about the farmhouse, barn and new facilities.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

There is a basic structure: an introduction, an overview and descriptions of different parts of the site. This gives the reader some sense of how the farm changed. However, the progression is not consistently clear. The paragraph beginning “On the left side” shifts from the farm shop to the fruit plots, cottages and road without a clear spatial sequence, and “On the right side” repeats information about parking already mentioned in the previous sentence. Some linking is attempted through “Overall” and “also,” but connections between features and their locations are often missing. Organise the report by area or by comparing the 1950 layout with today, and use clear references such as “to the north-east” and “further south” to guide the reader.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant map vocabulary, including “site,” “converted,” “divided,” “solar panels” and “camping field,” so the main subject is generally understandable. The range is nevertheless limited, and several phrases are imprecise or awkward for describing a plan. “Very developed” is vague, while “new parking” and “in the section of fruit trees” do not express the locations naturally. “The location barn” is also unclear, and “upgraded into” is not the most suitable collocation for describing a track becoming a road. Aim for precise location language and varied verbs such as “situated,” “replaced” or “added.” Check that each chosen word accurately describes the relationship shown on the map.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including “The track, which was in the middle of the farm, was upgraded…” and a contrast between the former sheep area and its present use. However, grammatical control is inconsistent, and errors sometimes make relationships difficult to follow. For example, “add a farm shop” uses an incorrect verb form in this description, and “upgraded into the a road” contains an unnecessary article and an incorrect construction. The sentence beginning “The soft fruits and vegetables area remained the same” is joined to another clause without suitable punctuation, while “section.On” lacks a space after the full stop. Practise accurate past and present forms, articles, and sentence boundaries, and proofread each sentence for a complete, clear structure.

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

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