Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-09-27
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 road access to a city hospital from the year 2007 to 2010.
Overall, the 2010 map shows the reconstruction and redesign of the previous city hospital. They have underwent some extensive modernization which constitutes a public car park, separated from the staff as in 2007, located at the eastern side of the hospital wall. Other modifications include two roundabouts, in the middle, on the southern side, joining the hospital road to provide better transit facilities. A development of bus station at the south-west corner is also noted, typically connecting the station with the two roundabouts, thus corresponds a smoother traffic flow.
Firstly, there is a map of a city hospital in 2007, highlighting the infrastructure of a combined car parking used by both the staff and public. Public car park is constructed at the north-eastern side of the wall, whereas the staff car parking is still occupied in the old place.
Secondly, Two roundabouts were clearly shown at each corner of the road, adjacent to the hospital. Additionally, a bus stop also joined both the roundabouts available on the road straight to the city hospital, whereas the old map shows that the bus stops were on the opposite sides of the road, facing city road.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The student attempts to summarize the main changes between the two maps, noting the new public car park, roundabouts, and the bus station. However, there are notable inaccuracies in reporting the spatial details. For example, the student states that the public car park is 'located at the eastern side of the hospital wall' and that the staff car parking is 'still occupied in the old place', whereas the 2010 map shows a new public car park across Ring Road and the existing car park designated solely for staff. Furthermore, the description of the bus station and stops becomes confused in the final paragraph. While an overview is attempted, the flaws in data reporting prevent the response from achieving a higher band score.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0
The response has an overall organizational structure, starting with an introduction and overview, followed by body details. However, the logical progression is hindered by confusing transitions and repetitive referencing. The use of sequence markers like 'Firstly' and 'Secondly' in the latter paragraphs is poorly handled, as the second paragraph abruptly re-introduces the 2007 map after the 2010 map has already been discussed. Paragraphing is disjointed, breaking the text into four short blocks rather than a cohesive comparison. Cohesive devices are sometimes inaccurate or mechanical, impacting the overall readability.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The student attempts some less common vocabulary such as 'reconstruction', 'modernization', and 'infrastructure'. However, there are frequent inappropriate word choices and collocations, such as 'They have underwent' (instead of undergone), 'constitutes a public car park', and 'thus corresponds a smoother traffic flow'. Some vocabulary is also repetitive or imprecise when describing map features. While the range is minimally adequate to convey the general topic, errors in word formation and choice occasionally cause difficulty for the reader.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, including relative clauses and participial phrases like 'joining the hospital road to provide better transit facilities'. However, grammatical control is weak, with frequent errors such as 'They have underwent' (incorrect past participle), subject-verb agreement issues, and awkward phrasing ('Two roundabouts were clearly shown at each corner of the road'). Punctuation and sentence boundaries are generally maintained, but errors persist across both simple and complex forms, limiting the score to a band 5.5.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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