Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 20 · 2026-11-01

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 plan demonstrates the comparison of benchwood farm site in 1950 and today.

Overall, farm shop, holiday cottages has been added in today's site. Meanwhile, sheep area has been replaced by parkings, camping field and solar panels. The track has been replaced by road.

In 1950, the entrance began from a track.On the right side of the track there was fruit trees, soft fruits, vegetables and then there was a round about along with chickens, farmhouse and a Barn. The track ends beside the Barn. There was a sheep area also on the left side of the track. There is also a river flown beside the farm site.

Today, the road has been replaced by track. On the right side, the Farm shop has been added along fruit trees. Beside fruit trees there are vegetables and soft fruits then there is the Barn which connects the road. The farmhouse, chickens are beside the barn and then there is holiday cottages which is the new addition. Across the road, there is the parking, solar panels, camping field and second parking which have replaced the sheep area. The flow of river beside the farm stays the same.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the main change from a working farm to a site with visitor facilities, noting the farm shop, cottages, camping, parking and solar panels. You also mention that the river remains and that the sheep area has been redeveloped. However, several locations and relationships are inaccurate or unclear: the fruit, soft-fruit and vegetable plots are southwest of the track, not all on its right; the shop is between the fruit trees and internal road; and the barn is not simply followed by the farmhouse and chickens. The statement that the road has been replaced by a track also reverses the change: the internal track became a road. Include these key spatial comparisons more precisely and distinguish retained features from additions to make the summary more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall shape: an introduction, an overview, and separate descriptions of the 1950 and present-day layouts. This makes the comparison reasonably easy to follow, and phrases such as “Meanwhile” and “Across the road” help signal relationships. However, the descriptions sometimes become a list of features rather than a clearly mapped progression. For example, “Beside fruit trees there are vegetables and soft fruits then there is the Barn” combines locations that are not adjacent in the plan and makes the sequence difficult to visualise. The repeated “there was/is” pattern also makes the account mechanical. Organise each map by area or route, and use clearer references such as “to the northeast” and “south of the farmhouse.”

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for describing maps, including “replaced,” “added,” “entrance,” “beside” and “across the road,” so the reader can understand the general changes. However, the range is limited and some choices are inaccurate or unnatural. “The track has been replaced by road” conflicts with the later claim that the road was replaced by a track, while “round about” is not an accurate description of the 1950 track junction. “The flow of river beside the farm stays the same” is also an awkward way to describe a retained boundary feature. Aim for precise map vocabulary and natural collocations, such as “internal road,” “junction,” “remains unchanged” and “is situated.” Check the farm name spelling as well.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more extended sentences, and the basic meaning is generally recoverable. However, errors in agreement, articles, tense and sentence boundaries recur. For example, “farm shop, holiday cottages has been added” needs plural agreement, while “there was fruit trees” has a singular verb with a plural noun. “The farmhouse, chickens are beside the barn” lacks a clear grammatical connection, and “a track.On” needs a space after the full stop. There is also inconsistent tense use between “there was” and “there is” when describing the 1950 plan. Use the past tense consistently for the earlier map, check singular and plural subjects, and separate linked ideas into complete sentences. More accurate control of these patterns would make your comparisons clearer.

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