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Cambridge 12 Writing Task 1 Test 3 - Sample Answers (Band 9 to 4-5)
Real band 9, 8, 7 and 6.5 sample answers for this prompt, plus a genuine band 4-5 answer so you can see exactly what pulls a score down. Every sample comes with examiner-style notes on Task Achievement, Coherence & Cohesion, Lexical Resource and Grammatical Range & Accuracy.
The Prompt
Plans for a Town Centre — Islip
The maps below show the centre of a small town called Islip as it is now, and plans for its development.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.
The Data
Key changes planned for Islip town centre
Main road: Currently open to all traffic → to be pedestrianised, with traffic diverted to a new ring road
Shops: Currently on both sides of the main road → to remain on the south side only; north side redeveloped for new housing
Park: Currently north of the town centre → to be reduced in size, with housing built on part of it
Car park: Currently a single car park → to be replaced by an expanded bus station and car park
School / housing: Currently farmland to the south → to become a new housing estate and a new school
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193 wordsConnects the pedestrianisation and the new housing as parts of one coherent redevelopment story, not a list of unrelated changes.
The two maps compare the current layout of the town centre of Islip with planned changes for its future development.
Overall, the plans involve a substantial shift away from car traffic in the town centre, alongside a significant increase in housing, achieved partly by reducing the size of the existing park.
Currently, the main road runs through the town centre and is open to all traffic, with shops located on both sides of it. Under the new plan, this road will be pedestrianised, with traffic instead diverted onto a new ring road built around the town. Shops will remain only on the south side of the old main road, while the north side will be redeveloped for new housing.
Significant changes are also planned to the north, where the existing park will be reduced in size to make room for additional housing, and to the south, where farmland will be transformed into a new housing estate complete with a school. The current car park will also be replaced by an expanded facility combining a bus station and car park, presumably to accommodate residents who can no longer drive directly through the pedestrianised centre.
Examiner Notes
Task Achievement: Covers every planned change accurately, and the overview correctly identifies the two connected themes, reduced car access and increased housing, rather than listing each change as an isolated fact.
Coherence & Cohesion: A clear overview precedes detail organised geographically, with cohesive devices ("under the new plan", "presumably") linking current and future states naturally.
Lexical Resource: Precise, varied language ("pedestrianised", "redeveloped", "accommodate") used accurately throughout.
Grammatical Range & Accuracy: Wide range of accurate structures, including passive voice for describing planned changes, used with full control.
Band 8
157 wordsAccurate and clearly organised, just slightly plainer in linking the two main themes together.
The two maps show the current layout of Islip town centre and the planned changes for its future development.
Overall, the plans show a move away from cars in the town centre, along with more housing being built, partly by using some of the existing park's land.
At the moment, the main road goes through the town centre and cars can use it freely, with shops on both sides. In the new plan, this road will become pedestrian-only, and traffic will be sent around the town on a new ring road instead. Shops will stay only on the south side, while the north side will be used for new housing.
The plan also includes reducing the size of the park to make space for more housing, and turning farmland to the south into a new housing estate with a school. The car park will be replaced with a bigger one that also includes a new bus station.
Examiner Notes
Task Achievement: Covers all the planned changes accurately with a clear overview, though the connection between the two main themes is stated a little more simply than in the band 9 answer.
Coherence & Cohesion: Clearly organised with an overview followed by detail moving from the town centre outward; cohesive devices are accurate throughout.
Lexical Resource: Good range of vocabulary for describing change, though "pedestrian-only" and "sent around" are slightly plainer than the higher-band answer's more technical terms.
Grammatical Range & Accuracy: Accurate throughout, with a good mix of simple and complex sentence structures.
Band 7
156 wordsAll the changes are reported correctly, but the overview stays general rather than tying the details together.
The maps give information about the town centre of Islip now and how it will look after some planned changes.
Overall, the plan will remove most cars from the town centre and will add more houses in different parts of the town.
Right now, the main road lets cars drive through the middle of town, and there are shops on both sides of the road. After the changes, cars will not be allowed on this road anymore, and instead they will use a new ring road around the town. Shops will only be on the south side after the change, and the north side will become housing instead.
The park will also become smaller because some of it will be used for houses, and the farmland to the south will become a new housing area with a school. The old car park will be replaced by a new, bigger car park with a bus station too.
Examiner Notes
Task Achievement: Reports all the changes accurately with a basic overview, but the overview is fairly general and does not connect the two main themes as explicitly as the higher-band answers do.
Coherence & Cohesion: Clearly organised moving through the town centre logically, though "will become" and "will be" are repeated frequently.
Lexical Resource: Adequate range for the task; figures and changes are accurate but connecting language stays fairly plain throughout.
Grammatical Range & Accuracy: Generally accurate, mostly simple sentence structures; meaning is always clear.
Band 6.5
159 wordsAll the changes are correct, but agreement and passive-voice errors appear in almost every sentence.
The map give information about town centre of Islip now and how it will look after some plan change.
Overall, the plan will remove most car from town centre and will add more house in different part of town.
Right now, main road let car drive through middle of town, and there is shop on both side of road. After the change, car will not be allow on this road anymore, and instead they will use new ring road around town. Shop will only be on south side after change, and north side will become housing instead.
The park will also become smaller because some of it will be use for house, and farmland to south will become new housing area with school. Old car park will be replace by new, bigger car park with bus station too. These change together suggest town is trying to reduce traffic in centre while also creating more space for people to live.
Examiner Notes
Task Achievement: Reports all the changes accurately with a basic overview, matching the content of the band 7 answer.
Coherence & Cohesion: Clearly organised moving through the town centre, following the same structure as the higher-band answers.
Lexical Resource: Limited by "shop", "house" and "car" being used without their plural forms throughout.
Grammatical Range & Accuracy: Frequent subject-verb agreement and passive-voice errors ("map give", "car will not be allow", "will be use", "will be replace") appear in nearly every sentence.
Band 4-5 - What to Avoid
50 wordsA whole feature of the plan (the ring road) is missing entirely, and it closes with a personal opinion rather than a report.
This map show town before and after change. Road is close for car, only walk now.
New house build in park and in farm land. School also come new place.
I think this plan is good idea for town, make town more nice place I think, people will like it.
Examiner Notes
Task Achievement: The ring road and the shift of shops to one side of the old main road are never mentioned, several changes are merged together vaguely, and the closing comment is a personal opinion that has no place in a Task 1 report. At well under 150 words, the response is also underlength.
Coherence & Cohesion: Reads as three short, disconnected remarks rather than an organised comparison between the two maps.
Lexical Resource: Vague, repetitive vocabulary ("new place", "more nice place") used instead of the specific features named on the maps.
Grammatical Range & Accuracy: Frequent errors throughout ("map show", "Road is close for car", "New house build", "School also come new place").
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Sign Up Free →These sample answers are written independently for Prep IELTS Now to illustrate real band-score differences. They are a study aid, not official Cambridge or IELTS material.