Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · IELTS Momentum Workout · 2026-09-27

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 5.0)

Here we have a demonstration of a diagram of a town square and it's surrounding area for 2014 and how it is gonna be in 2020.

First, if we look at the map of 2014, we can see a fountain in the middle, a fish market next to a history meseum. Although there is a fish restaurant in front of a fish market. Moreover, library is next to history museum. On the opposite side, there are administrative buildings along with town hall and on the right side of the fish restaurant.

The plan for development of the area to be made is by various changings. We can see history museum is going to be changed by local artists gallery and administrative buildings are going to be replaced by shops. Plant beds will be installed and infront of them there will be covered seating. A children's playground will be next to covered seating.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

The response attempts to describe the main features of the maps for 2014 and 2020, but it suffers from significant limitations. The overview is weak, and several key spatial relationships and transformations are either missing or described inaccurately. For instance, the text mentions a fish restaurant 'in front of a fish market' and an administrative building 'on the right side of the fish restaurant', which shows confusion regarding the precise layout provided in the prompt. While the student identifies some major changes, such as the replacement of the history museum with a local artists' gallery and the administrative buildings with shops, the overall coverage of the visual data is incomplete and lacks a clear, cohesive summary of the broader transformations.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response is divided into an introduction and two body paragraphs, representing a basic attempt at paragraphing. However, the progression of ideas is frequently disrupted by awkward transitions and colloquial phrasing such as 'Here we have a demonstration of'. Cohesive devices are used in a basic manner (e.g., 'First', 'Although', 'Moreover'), but referencing is sometimes unclear, making it difficult to follow the spatial relationships between the various buildings and features. The overarching logical flow is limited by abrupt shifts from one location to another without adequate signposting.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is quite basic and repetitive, heavily relying on the terms directly provided in the prompt (e.g., 'history museum', 'fish market', 'administrative buildings', 'plant beds', 'covered seating'). There are spelling errors such as 'meseum' and grammatical word-formation issues like 'changings'. While the student attempts some less common vocabulary, the limited range and noticeable errors in word choice restrict the lexical score. To achieve a higher band, the student needs to incorporate a wider variety of synonyms and more precise descriptive terminology suited to academic map descriptions.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but control over grammar is inconsistent. There are several noticeable errors, such as 'how it is gonna be' (too informal for an academic task), missing articles ('history museum' instead of 'the history museum'), and awkward phrasing like 'is going to be changed by local artists gallery' instead of 'replaced by a local artists' gallery'. Punctuation is generally acceptable, but frequent minor grammatical inaccuracies and overly informal registers prevent the writing from reaching a higher band.

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

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