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Cambridge 20 Writing Task 1 Test 2 - 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

Beechwood Farm - 1950 and Today

The plans below show the site of a farm in 1950 and the same site today.

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

Write at least 150 words.

The Data

Beechwood Farm: key features, 1950 vs today

Fruit trees / soft fruits / vegetable plots: Present in 1950, along the river bank; unchanged today

Farm shop: Not present in 1950; added today, near the road entrance

Parking: Not present in 1950; two parking areas added today

Sheep field: Large field, top right, in 1950; replaced today by a camping field and solar panels

Holiday cottages: Not present in 1950; added today, near the barn

Barn / farmhouse / chickens: Present in 1950, central area; unchanged today

Tracks: Unpaved in 1950; upgraded to roads today

River: Borders the site to the south/west in 1950; unchanged today

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Band 9

226 words

Picks the one comparison that matters and builds the whole report's structure around it: a model overview.

The two plans illustrate how a farm called Beechwood Farm has changed between 1950 and the present day.

Overall, while the farm's original growing areas and central buildings have remained untouched, the site has been substantially redeveloped to accommodate tourism and renewable energy, largely replacing the land once used for livestock.

The most significant change concerns the large sheep field in the top-right corner of the 1950 plan, which has since been removed entirely and replaced by a camping field together with an array of solar panels. Several other features are entirely new additions: a farm shop and two parking areas now sit near the road entrance, and a cluster of holiday cottages has been built close to the barn. The unpaved tracks that once crossed the farm have also been upgraded into proper roads, presumably to accommodate visitor traffic to these new facilities.

By contrast, several parts of the farm remain exactly as they were seventy years ago. The fruit trees, soft fruit bushes, and vegetable plots along the river bank are unchanged, as is the central cluster of the barn, farmhouse, and chicken enclosure. The river bordering the site to the south and west has likewise not altered.

In summary, Beechwood Farm has shifted from a purely agricultural operation towards a mixed site combining its original food production with tourism and sustainable energy generation.

Examiner Notes

Task Achievement: Identifies the single biggest change (the sheep field replaced by camping/solar) as the clear focus of the overview, then organises supporting detail around "new features" versus "unchanged features": exactly the kind of selection and comparison a maps task rewards.

Coherence & Cohesion: A genuine overview paragraph precedes the detail; "by contrast" clearly signals the shift from changes to non-changes.

Lexical Resource: Wide, precise range of vocabulary for describing change ("redeveloped", "a cluster of", "bordering") without ever relying on "change" as the only verb.

Grammatical Range & Accuracy: Confident, accurate use of passive voice throughout ("has been removed", "has been built"), the natural register for describing a static plan, plus varied sentence openings.

Band 8

234 words

Reports the same facts correctly but reaches for "changed" instead of a more specific verb more often than it should.

The two plans show how Beechwood Farm has changed between 1950 and now.

Overall, while the growing areas and the main buildings on the farm have stayed the same, a large part of the site has been changed to include things for tourists and for producing renewable energy, mostly in the space that used to be for sheep.

The biggest change is that the large sheep field in the top-right corner of the 1950 plan has been removed and replaced with a camping field and solar panels. There are also several completely new features: a farm shop and two parking areas have been built near the entrance from the road, and some holiday cottages have been added close to the barn. In addition, the tracks on the farm, which used to be unpaved, have now been made into proper roads, probably so visitors can reach these new areas more easily.

On the other hand, some parts of the farm have not changed at all. The fruit trees, soft fruits, and vegetable plots by the river are still the same, and the barn, farmhouse, and chickens in the middle of the farm remain unchanged too. The river along the south and west of the site is also the same as before.

In conclusion, Beechwood Farm has moved away from being only a farm for food and now combines this with tourism and renewable energy production.

Examiner Notes

Task Achievement: Covers the same key comparisons accurately and the overview is genuine, but "changed" is used as the go-to verb across several sentences instead of more specific ones (added, replaced, upgraded).

Coherence & Cohesion: Clear structure with an accurate "on the other hand" pivot; very easy to follow throughout.

Lexical Resource: Good range, though noticeably more repetitive around the word "changed" than the band 9 answer.

Grammatical Range & Accuracy: Wide range of sentence forms, mostly accurate passive constructions, with only rare minor slips.

Band 7

227 words

All the right features are reported, but missing plurals and a slightly blurred overview keep it out of the top bands.

The two plans show the changes to Beechwood Farm between 1950 and today.

Overall, the growing areas and main buildings of the farm have not changed, but a big part of the farm has been changed to add things for tourists and for making renewable energy, mostly in the place where sheep used to be.

The biggest change is the large sheep field in the top corner of the 1950 map, which is not there anymore and instead there is a camping field and solar panels. There are also many new things that were not there before: a farm shop and two parking area have been built near the road, and some holiday cottage have been added near the barn. Also, the tracks in the farm used to be unpaved but now they have become roads, maybe because more visitors come to the farm now.

However, some other parts of the farm have stayed the same. The fruit trees, soft fruit, and vegetable plot near the river have not changed, and the barn, farmhouse and chickens in the middle part of the farm are also the same as before. The river on the south and west side of the farm has not changed either.

In conclusion, Beechwood Farm used to be only for farming but now it also has tourism and renewable energy together with the farming.

Examiner Notes

Task Achievement: Covers the main features accurately, but the overview and first detail paragraph blur together slightly, and individual items (parking area, holiday cottage) are listed without being grouped into a clear "new features" category the way the band 8/9 answers do.

Coherence & Cohesion: Order follows the data logically; cohesion is adequate though "also" and "however" carry most of the linking work.

Lexical Resource: Adequate vocabulary for describing change, undermined by plural errors in noun phrases ("two parking area", "some holiday cottage").

Grammatical Range & Accuracy: Generally good control with frequent plural-form errors and occasional awkward phrasing ("it not there anymore").

Band 6.5

190 words

The comparison is accurate but has to be found by the reader: there's no overview sentence doing that work up front.

The two plan show change of Beechwood Farm between 1950 and today.

Overall, growing area and main building of farm not change, but big part of farm is change for add thing for tourist and for make renewable energy, mostly in place where sheep used to be before.

Biggest change is big sheep field in top corner of 1950 map, it not there anymore and instead there is camping field and solar panel. There is also many new thing that not there before: farm shop and two parking area is build near road, and some holiday cottage is add near barn. Also, track in farm used to be no paved but now it become road, maybe because more visitor come to farm now.

But some other part of farm stay same. Fruit tree, soft fruit, and vegetable plot near river not change, and barn, farmhouse and chicken in middle part of farm also same like before. River on south and west side of farm also not change.

In conclusion, Beechwood Farm used to be only for farming but now it also have tourism and renewable energy together with farming part.

Examiner Notes

Task Achievement: The main features are all present and mostly accurate, but there's no clearly separated overview statement: the answer moves almost straight into detail, so a reader has to piece the big picture together for themselves.

Coherence & Cohesion: Broadly follows a logical order (changes, then unchanged features), but cohesion is thin and repetitive ("Also", "But").

Lexical Resource: Limited range; "is build", "is add" show verb-form confusion where a passive past participle ("has been built", "has been added") was needed.

Grammatical Range & Accuracy: Frequent errors, especially missing verb inflection and subject-verb agreement ("track... is no paved", "it become road"), consistent throughout, though the sequence of changes is still followable.

Band 4-5 - What to Avoid

128 words

Every change is technically mentioned, but with no overview and no comparison words, it reads like notes rather than a report.

This plan show farm in 1950 and today. Farm is called Beechwood Farm. Many thing is change in this farm.

In 1950 there is sheep field, big one, in top corner. Now this place is not sheep field, now is camping field and solar panel. This is big change I think.

Also new thing is build like farm shop and parking. Holiday cottage also new, near barn. Before this thing not exist in farm.

Track before is not paved, now is road. Maybe because tourist come now.

Some thing not change like fruit tree, vegetable, barn, farmhouse, chicken, river. This part is same in both map.

In conclusion farm change a lot from 1950 to today, now is more for tourist not only for farming animal and plant.

Examiner Notes

Task Achievement: Reads as a list of individual changes ("sheep field... now is camping field", "also new thing is build") rather than a genuine summary: there's no overview sentence at all, and no comparison language connecting one change to another. This is the main reason it would score low on Task Achievement regardless of accuracy, and at 128 words it is also under the 150-word minimum.

Coherence & Cohesion: Paragraphing follows individual features rather than ideas, so the answer reads as disconnected notes rather than a developed report.

Lexical Resource: Extremely limited: "is change", "is build", "is new" repeated instead of varied reporting language.

Grammatical Range & Accuracy: Basic verb-form and agreement errors in nearly every sentence ("Many thing is change", "new thing is build") that would genuinely hinder a reader's understanding of when each change happened.

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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.