Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-10-30

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 given map is of Beechwood farm in the year 1950. Firstly, there was a river passing under the bridge. Between the river and track there was three different fields of Fruit trees, soft fruits and vegetables.

On the other side of the track sheep farm was situated. Then trtack led to three way chowk along which there was Barn, farmhouses and chicken. But today, there is an addition of farm shop in the Fruit trees section along the track which becomes now road.

On the upper side of the road where there was only sheep area now has parking near the bridge road. It also has camping field now. Barn shifted to the dead end of the triway chowk. In place of Barn, Holiday cottages are build there. On the other side of the road there is parking and Solar panels. These are the major changes appeared now as compared to the map of 1950, when most of the land was barrend.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the two time periods and report several relevant changes, including the addition of a farm shop, camping field, parking, solar panels and holiday cottages. However, the account is only partial: it does not give a clear overall summary of how the farm has changed, and some details are inaccurate or unclear. For example, the barn did not shift to the dead end; it remains in the southern part of the site, while the farmhouse and chicken enclosure also remain. The cottages occupy the area where the barn was, and the former sheep area is now used for camping and solar panels as well as parking. The claim that most of the land was barren in 1950 is unsupported. Compare the main land-use changes more precisely.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic chronological structure: it first describes the 1950 plan and then introduces changes with “But today”. This helps the reader follow the broad comparison. However, progression is uneven, and several details are compressed into unclear sentences, such as “Barn shifted to the dead end of the triway chowk. In place of Barn, Holiday cottages are build there.” The relationship between the road, buildings and land uses is not always easy to follow. Linking phrases such as “In contrast,” “Meanwhile,” and “The former barn site” could make the comparisons clearer. Organise the response into a short overview followed by one paragraph on the western fields and another on the eastern buildings and facilities.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant map vocabulary, including “river,” “track,” “fields,” “parking,” “camping field” and “solar panels,” so the reader can identify many features. However, the range is limited and several choices or forms are inaccurate or informal, which sometimes makes the description difficult to interpret. “Three way chowk” is not suitable English for a map junction; use “three-way junction.” “Dead end” is imprecise for the road layout, and “barrend” appears to mean “barren,” though that description is not supported by the map. Also check spelling in “trtack” and “farmhouses.” Use precise location language such as “to the north of,” “adjacent to” and “on the former site of” to describe changes accurately.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response includes simple statements and some attempts to connect ideas, but sentence structures are mostly basic and errors occur frequently. For example, “there was three different fields” has a subject–verb agreement error, while “Holiday cottages are build there” uses the wrong verb form. The opening phrase “The given map is of Beechwood farm in the year 1950” is also awkwardly constructed, and several sentences omit articles or use them inconsistently. Tense control is uneven when moving between the past and present, and punctuation does not always separate ideas clearly. Practise accurate past-tense descriptions of the earlier plan and present-tense descriptions of today, while checking agreement and verb forms. Short, correct comparison sentences will improve clarity before you attempt more complex structures.

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

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