Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-09-12

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 4.5)

The plans below shows the layout of a university sport centre now, and how it will look after redevelopment :

At present there is a gym, a reception, a changing room , a seating area, two outdoor courts and four sides north, west, east and south.

According to the future plans, there is a leisure pool, a changing room, a 25 meter long pool, a gym , a seating area, a changing room , a sports hall, two dance studios, two changing rooms, a sports shop, four sides i.e; north, south, east and west.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.0

The student has failed to meet the minimum length requirement of 150 words, coming in significantly short at only 94 words. This severely limits the development of the response. While the student attempts to identify some features from the current and future plans—such as mentioning 'a gym', 'a leisure pool', and 'a sports hall'—the summary is incomplete, lacks appropriate grouping, and fails to provide meaningful comparisons as required by the prompt. Key spatial changes and the expansion of facilities are not fully explored. Consequently, the task is only partially addressed, leading to a low band score.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 4.0

The response is organized into very short, disjointed sentences and isolated paragraphs rather than a cohesive essay structure. There is a lack of effective paragraphing and logical progression between ideas. Cohesive devices are largely absent, except for basic transitions like 'At present' and 'According to the future plans'. The listing of facilities feels mechanical and repetitive, particularly with the awkward repetition of 'a changing room' and the cardinal directions at the end of each paragraph. Overall arrangement shows minimal organization.

Lexical Resource — Band 4.5

The vocabulary used is extremely basic and repetitive, relying on elementary terms such as 'gym', 'pool', 'seating area', and 'changing room'. There are no attempts at less common vocabulary or sophisticated paraphrasing of the prompt. Furthermore, there are awkward word choices and stylistic issues, such as listing the compass points ('four sides i.e; north, south, east and west') in a manner that adds no real lexical value. The range is barely adequate for the task.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 4.5

The grammatical range is very limited, consisting mostly of simple existential structures like 'there is' repeated across the sentences. There is a subject-verb agreement error in the opening sentence ('The plans below shows'), and punctuation and spacing errors are present (e.g., extra spaces before commas and semicolons). While some basic sentences are grammatically acceptable, the lack of complex structures and the presence of basic errors restrict the score.

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

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