Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-10-06
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 two maps depict the layout of Grange Park in 1920 and how it looks today after recent changes.
Overall, the park has undergone several major modifications, including the addition of new facilities, like the amphitheatre, children's play area, and a cafe. However, some existing features have remained unchanged, like entrance and rose garden in the top left corner.
After analysing the maps, in 1920, the park had a fountain in the middle, which has been removed and built the rose garden with seats, while there was a stage for musicians on the west side of the park, now it has been converted into amphitheatre for concerts, and park had seats on the left side as well on right, at the top and bottom, it has been demolished, the rose garden in the southwest corner has been removed. Whereas, the rose garden at the top right corner has been transformed into a cafe.
Additionally, the park entrance has been remained their positions, the pond for water plant in the northeast was located, it has been replaced by a children's play area, whilst the water feature has been built in the southeast, and the rose garden in the northwest has been maintained its position.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 6.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The response addresses the main parts of the prompt by highlighting several key changes between 1920 and today, such as the introduction of the amphitheatre and the café. However, some parts of the overview and body paragraphs are under-developed or inadequately supported. For instance, the student states that the entrance remained in the same position, but misses several important details and comparisons across the two layouts, such as the transformation of the glasshouse into a water feature and the addition of the underground car park. The selection of features lacks full extension, meaning key spatial relationships are sometimes overlooked, which keeps the response at this level.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The essay presents a coherent overall arrangement with paragraphs used to group information, but the logical progression is frequently disrupted by mechanical and repetitive phrasing. Transitional expressions such as 'After analysing the maps' and 'Whereas' are used inaccurately or awkwardly, failing to establish smooth connections between clauses. Referencing is also occasionally unclear, as seen in sentences like 'the park entrance has been remained their positions', where pronoun and spatial referencing break down. To progress, the writer needs to employ a wider and more accurate range of cohesive devices to guide the reader seamlessly through the comparisons.
Lexical Resource: Band 6.0
The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, successfully communicating basic ideas about the park transformations using terms such as 'modifications', 'facilities', and 'converted'. The student attempts less common vocabulary with varying degrees of success. However, there are noticeable word choice and collocation errors, such as 'built the rose garden with seats' instead of 'replaced by a rose garden with seating', and minor inaccuracies like 'cafe' missing an accent. These lexical slips do not heavily impede communication, placing the response comfortably within this performance tier.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The text features a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but attempts at complex structures are frequently marred by structural errors. Examples include passive and active voice confusion, as in 'which has been removed and built the rose garden', and tense or verb pattern errors such as 'has been remained their positions' and 'has been maintained its position'. Punctuation and clause joining are also weak, leading to run-on sentences with frequent errors that cause some difficulty for the reader and restrict the score.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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