Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-08-05
IELTS Writing Task 1 question
The plans below show the layout of a university’s sports centre now, and how it will look after redevelopment.
Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
Student answer (Band 5.5)
The diagram demonstrates the structure of a sports centre of a particular university at present and its final design after reconstruction.
Overall, it is clearly visible that several amenities has been projected to installed in the future construction plan.
At present the sports centre has two outdoor courts at the west and east corner including a 25 m long pool following a reception desk at the south side of the entrance, at the north side a gym setup. In addition, a changing room and a seating area is located at the west and east side of the pool.
By contrast, in the projected plan, the swimming pool and its surrounding amenities including reception desk, changing room, gym corner and seating areas will be unchanged. However, both outdoor courts will be replaced and the east side court will be turned into sports hall adjacent to seating area, where as west side court will be replaced by a leisure pool. At the entrance area adjacent to leisure pool another changing room is constructed including a sports shop and at the right side of entrance a cafe also will be installed. Moreover, near sports hall in the east side two dance studio will be added to the future plans.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0
The response covers all key features of the two diagrams. You successfully identified the main changes, such as the replacement of the outdoor courts with a sports hall and a leisure pool, and the addition of new facilities like the cafe and dance studios. The overview is clear and sets the tone for the report. However, there are some minor inaccuracies in detail; for instance, you mentioned the swimming pool remains unchanged, but the plan shows the addition of a leisure pool, and your description of the layout could be more precise regarding the relative positions of the new facilities. Overall, the response effectively highlights the main trends and changes.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is logically organized into an introduction, an overview, and two body paragraphs. You use cohesive devices such as 'By contrast', 'In addition', and 'Moreover' to link ideas. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical, and the referencing is occasionally unclear, such as in the phrase 'following a reception desk at the south side'. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the current layout from the future plan. To reach a higher band, ensure that the flow between sentences is smoother and that cohesive devices are used more naturally to connect the spatial descriptions.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
You demonstrate a sufficient range of vocabulary to describe the changes, using terms like 'redevelopment', 'projected plan', and 'adjacent'. There are some minor errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'amenities has been projected to installed' (should be 'are projected to be installed') and 'gym corner' (a bit informal). While the vocabulary is adequate for the task, it lacks the sophistication and precision required for higher bands. Expanding your repertoire of synonyms for 'change' and 'add' would improve the quality of your writing.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. However, there are several grammatical errors that occur throughout the text, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('amenities has been projected') and missing articles or prepositions ('at the west and east corner'). There are also some awkward phrasings, such as 'where as west side court will be replaced'. While these errors do not impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent a higher score. Focusing on proofreading for basic grammatical accuracy and ensuring consistent verb tenses would be highly beneficial.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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