Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-09-29

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

The plans below show a public park when it first opened in 1920 and the same park today.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

Student answer (Band 5.5)

The map diagram compares the development of a public park when it first opened in 1920 and the same park today.

The Grange Park underwent major developments over the years. Theatres and Children`s play area was built, furthermore water pond was built.

In 1920, the town had a simple structure compared to the park of today, having two entrances. It had a basic stage for musicians, where people of the town could listen to music. There was a fountain in the middle of the town and a pond for water plants. There is a glasshouse opposite to the pond.There were three rose gardens at seperate locations and public seats were available for people to sit.

Today`s Grange Park had major developments over the period. For instance, stage of musicians developed into Amphitheatre for concerts, which could hold a larger audience than before. Rose garden replaced the fountain and seats were kept around it. A cafe and children`s play area was built in the park, replacing rose garden and pond. Water feature and an entrance to the underground car park was built near the southern entrance of the park.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response successfully addresses the task by comparing Grange Park in 1920 with its layout today, covering major features such as the amphitheatre, rose gardens, children's play area, and car park. An overview is attempted in the introduction, though it is slightly brief. However, the student makes a recurring factual error by referring to the park as a 'town' in multiple places (e.g., 'the town had a simple structure', 'fountain in the middle of the town'), which misinterprets the visual data. Despite this lapse, the main changes and comparisons are clearly reported, satisfying the core requirements for Band 6.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay is divided into short paragraphs that separate the introduction, an overview, the 1920 layout, and present-day changes. Logical progression is generally maintained, moving clearly from past to present. However, cohesive devices are somewhat mechanical ('In 1920', 'Today's Grange Park'), and referencing is occasionally imprecise. Paragraphing could be further refined, as some paragraphs are extremely short and consist of only one or two sentences. Overall organisation is coherent enough to follow without difficulty.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, with some attempts at less common lexical items such as 'amphitheatre', 'glasshouse', and 'underground car park'. However, there are notable lexical inaccuracies, most prominently using the word 'town' instead of 'park'. Word formation and collocation errors also occur, such as 'stage of musicians' instead of 'stage for musicians' and 'water pond' instead of 'pond for water plants'. These errors prevent the lexical score from reaching Band 7.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The writer uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as relative clauses ('where people of the town could listen to music' and 'which could hold a larger audience'). There are several grammatical errors and awkward phrasings, including missing articles ('Children`s play area was built'), tense inconsistencies ('The Grange Park underwent' combined with present tense verbs elsewhere), and incorrect prepositions ('opposite to the pond' instead of 'opposite the pond'). Nevertheless, communication is rarely impeded, placing the response solidly in Band 6.

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

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