Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-22

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 illustrates the difference in Beechwood Farm between 1950 and today. It can be said that there are a lot of additions and changes happened in 1950 to now.

Firstly, there were track roads that connected to the main road in Beechwood Farm, but now it replaced itself with a brand new road with an intersection in the middle. Additionally, barn removed from the farm and holiday cottages took its place at the end of the road. Facing holiday cottages,used to be the empty spot, new additions made for the cars to park and also at the beginning of the road.

Secondly, vegetables, soft fruits and fruit trees remained at the same area as well as with the chickens across the bottom side of the river. Two adjustments was made, adding farm shop in front of fruit trees and adding a barn at the intersection of the roads.

Overall, with the changes and additions, Beechwood Farm looks brighter than in 1950.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify several relevant changes, including the new farm shop, parking areas and the barn near the road junction, and you note that the fruit-growing areas and chickens remain. However, the overview is vague: saying the farm has “a lot of additions and changes” does not summarise the main transformation, such as the shift from a mainly agricultural site to one with tourism and visitor facilities. Some details are inaccurate or unclear. The original barn was not simply removed; a barn is still shown, relocated to the southern road junction. The cottages are not clearly described as replacing the barn, and the chickens are south of the farmhouse, not “across the bottom side of the river.” Include the camping field, solar panels and farmhouse to cover the key changes more fully.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, two paragraphs beginning with “Firstly” and “Secondly,” and a concluding statement. This gives the reader a basic route through the comparison, and the ideas are generally grouped by changes and retained features. However, the progression is sometimes difficult to follow because several locations are described imprecisely, as in “Facing holiday cottages” and “at the beginning of the road.” The conclusion that the farm “looks brighter” does not clearly connect to the map evidence. Use clearer spatial references and organise the report by areas of the site—for example, the western fields, the northern visitor facilities, and the eastern buildings. This would make the comparisons more coherent and reduce reliance on mechanical sequencing words.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant map vocabulary such as “intersection,” “holiday cottages,” “fruit trees” and “parking,” so the reader can understand the general subject. However, the range is limited and several phrases are imprecise or unnatural, which weakens the description of changes. “Track roads” is not a clear label for the former tracks, while “a brand new road” is informal and does not convey the layout precisely. “The farm looks brighter” is also an unsupported, subjective description rather than suitable map-report language. Aim for accurate terms such as “internal road,” “junction,” “visitor facilities” and “remained unchanged.” More precise vocabulary would help distinguish what was retained, relocated or newly added.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt some longer sentence forms, including contrasts with “but” and additions with “as well as,” but control is inconsistent. Errors include “there are a lot of additions and changes happened,” where the verb construction is faulty, and “Two adjustments was made,” where subject–verb agreement is incorrect. The sentence “barn removed from the farm” also lacks an appropriate article and auxiliary, while “holiday cottages,used” has a punctuation and sentence-boundary problem. These errors sometimes make relationships between features unclear. Practise accurate past and present comparisons, such as “The tracks were replaced by a road” and “The fruit plots have remained in the same area.” Use a wider range of sentence patterns, but prioritise complete, correctly formed clauses.

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

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