Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-08-22

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 two maps illustrate the comparison between road access to a urban hospital in 2007 and 2010.

Overall, there used to be the bus stops at the south of the city hospital at both side of the hospital road later on it has been removed and two roundabouts are built. Now, there is only one bus station at the south-west of the hospital.

City hospital is surrounded with the ring road in 2010 as it was in the past in 2007 and there used to be the car parking for both staff and public at the south-east side of the ring road, now it is only available for staff and the parking for the public is placed at the eastern out side of the ring road.

In the past, there were bus station at both side of the hospital road at southern part of the hospital, now it has been removed and placed the two roundabouts at the city road and at the ring road. Bus station is at the south-west side of the city hospital attached with roundabouts of both ring road and city road.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response covers the main features of the maps, identifying the changes in road access, bus stops, and parking. However, the description is somewhat repetitive, particularly regarding the bus stops, which are mentioned in both the second and fourth paragraphs. While the key changes are noted, the comparison could be more analytical. The overview is present but lacks a clear synthesis of the overall trend, such as the shift toward a more complex road network. To improve, ensure that each feature is described only once to avoid redundancy and focus on grouping related information more logically.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organised into paragraphs, but the progression of ideas is hindered by repetition. For instance, the information about the bus stops is restated in the final paragraph, which disrupts the flow. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Overall' and 'In the past', but the transitions between sentences are sometimes mechanical. The referencing is occasionally unclear, such as 'it has been removed' without a clear antecedent in the immediate context. Improving the logical flow by avoiding circular descriptions and using a wider variety of linking words would enhance the coherence of the response.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks variety and precision. Phrases like 'there used to be' and 'it has been removed' are repeated frequently. There are some minor collocation issues, such as 'at both side of the hospital road' (should be 'on both sides') and 'eastern out side' (should be 'eastern outside'). While the vocabulary is sufficient to convey the main points, it does not demonstrate the flexibility or range required for a higher band. Incorporating more precise terminology related to urban planning or spatial description would strengthen this area.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. However, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with articles ('the bus stops', 'the car parking') and prepositions ('at the south of', 'at both side'). Subject-verb agreement is also inconsistent, such as 'there were bus station' (should be 'there were bus stations'). While these errors do not impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent a higher score. Focusing on proofreading for basic grammatical accuracy, especially pluralisation and article usage, will help improve the overall quality of the writing.

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

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