Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-08-14

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

The two maps below show road access to a city hospital in 2007 and 2010.

Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make comparisons wherever relevant.

Student answer (Band 5.5)

The maps depict data about a road which connect to city hospital in both year 2007 and 2010. It is quite evident that there was some changes occured in 2010, and the open areas around hospital road get occupied by various new structures.

In 2010, there were various infrastructures, which get modified. Firstly, bus stops surronded by the city hospital road replaced by two big roundabouts on north and south direction of the road pathway. Additionally, Bus stop moved on west direction with two connectivity routes. Secondly, The car parking area for staff and public remained same on east direction, but a little bit change took place there, the public park had been excluded from attached park area and placed over north east side of the map. However, certain structures which stayed in 2010 as they were in 2007. City hospital and ring remained on north pole of the map. The city road in south east corner also have no changes.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response covers the main features of the maps, such as the addition of roundabouts and the relocation of bus stops. However, the description is somewhat fragmented and lacks a clear overview. While the prompt asks for a summary, the student focuses on specific details without effectively synthesising the overall changes. The mention of 'north pole' is inaccurate, as maps use cardinal directions (north, south, east, west). The response identifies key changes but lacks the analytical depth required for a higher band, as some descriptions of the changes are slightly confusing or imprecise.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response is organised into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the logical flow is occasionally hindered by awkward phrasing and mechanical transitions. For example, the use of 'Firstly' and 'Secondly' is a bit forced, and the connection between sentences is sometimes weak. Referencing is occasionally unclear, such as the phrase 'the public park had been excluded from attached park area', which is difficult to follow. The use of cohesive devices is present but not always natural or precise, leading to a somewhat disjointed reading experience.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks precision and variety. There are several instances of awkward word choices, such as 'north pole' instead of 'northern part' or 'north side', and 'get modified' or 'get occupied', which are informal. The student relies on basic descriptive language. While the meaning is generally clear, the lack of sophisticated collocations and the presence of errors in word choice (e.g., 'surronded' instead of 'surrounding') limit the score. To improve, the student should focus on using more precise terminology related to map descriptions.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. Issues include subject-verb agreement ('there was some changes occured'), incorrect verb tenses ('get modified', 'remained same'), and awkward phrasing ('the city road in south east corner also have no changes'). Punctuation is generally functional, but the sentence construction often feels clunky. While the meaning is usually understandable, the frequency of errors in basic grammar prevents the response from reaching a higher band.

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.