Band 4.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.0 · IELTS Momentum Workout · 2026-09-07

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

The diagram below shows a town square and surrounding area in 2014 and the plans for development of the area to be completed by 2020. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

Student answer (Band 4.0)

The diagram illustrate a town square and surrounding area in 2014 and the plan foe the development of the area to be completed by 2020.

Overall,The square and surrounding area in 2014 is very simple and the 2020 in the square and surrounding area is very different. The first 2014 in square and surrounding area is simple and 2020 is square and surrounding area is modren.

First of all, the 2014 the square and surrounding area the big fish market and town hall.and one of the history museum and the library in the town.and by the fish restaurant and bar.and the band stand hall. and the administrative buildings in the area in 2014.

Second of all,The square and surrounding area in 2020. The one of the supermarket and a big town hall.The one of the children's playground and a two small plants beds. The local artists' gallery and there are some shops and the covered seating in the area.There are no bar and the restaurant in the area in 2020. there are no administrative buildings in area in 2020.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.0

The response attempts to describe the changes between 2014 and 2020, but it fails to provide a clear, accurate summary of the main features. The description is fragmented and lacks a logical overview. For instance, the statement 'the 2014 the square and surrounding area the big fish market' is grammatically incomplete and fails to clearly identify the key changes. While the response mentions several features, it does not effectively compare them or highlight the most significant developments. The information is presented in a list-like fashion rather than a cohesive report, and the lack of clarity regarding the spatial layout makes it difficult for the reader to follow the intended comparison.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 4.0

The response is difficult to follow due to poor sentence structure and a lack of cohesive devices. While there is an attempt at paragraphing, the internal structure of each paragraph is disjointed. The use of 'First of all' and 'Second of all' is mechanical and does not effectively link the ideas. Many sentences are fragments, such as 'And one of the history museum and the library in the town,' which disrupts the flow of information. There is no clear progression of ideas, and the referencing is often confusing, making the overall arrangement of the report ineffective.

Lexical Resource — Band 4.0

The vocabulary is very limited and repetitive. The student relies heavily on basic words like 'simple', 'different', and 'area'. There is a lack of precise terminology required for describing maps or urban development (e.g., 'redeveloped', 'transformed', 'replaced', 'situated'). Errors in word choice, such as 'the 2020 in the square', are frequent and impede the clarity of the description. The student struggles to use descriptive language to convey the nature of the changes, resulting in a very basic lexical range that is insufficient for an academic task.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 4.0

The response contains frequent grammatical errors that significantly hinder communication. There is a lack of control over basic sentence structure, with many sentences lacking main verbs or containing incorrect word order (e.g., 'The diagram illustrate', 'the 2014 the square'). Punctuation is also problematic, with erratic use of periods and capitalization. There is no evidence of complex sentence structures, and the high frequency of errors makes the text difficult to read. The response is limited to simple, often incomplete, clauses, which prevents the demonstration of a wider grammatical range.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.