Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)
The maps represent the existing and redeveloping sports centre of a university.
At present, the plan is quite simple with two outdoor courts to the east and west of the sports centre. The future layout of the sports centre shows that outdoor courts are expelled and several new facilities like dance studio to the east and cafe and sports shops are added to the south of the sports centre.
At present, there's a 25m rectangular pool at the centre of the sports centre, surrounded by the changing room to the west, gym to the north, seating to the east, reception and entrance to the south. Two outdoor courts are present to the east and west of the university's sports centre.
In future plans, the cente of the sports centre is representing a plan similar to the present plan, consist of pool, changing room, reception and seating. However, a sports hall is introduced to the east of the seating and two dance studios to the further east of the sports hall. Two changing rooms are added to the south west and south east corners of the sports centre. A leisure pool is planned to the west of the sports centre. A cafe to the east of the entrance and a sports shop to the west of the entrance are introduced. Whereas, two outdoor courts are removed from the layout of the sports centre.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The student successfully identifies and reports the main features of the university sports centre maps before and after redevelopment, fulfilling the requirements of an Academic Task 1 response. Key transformations, such as the addition of new dance studios, a leisure pool, a cafe, and a sports shop, alongside the removal of the outdoor courts, are clearly captured and compared. However, there are some minor inaccuracies in reporting the spatial locations, such as stating the outdoor courts were 'expelled' rather than removed, and the descriptive flow occasionally repeats details between paragraphs. Despite these minor limitations, all parts of the visual information are adequately covered and contrasted, aligning well with the descriptors for Band 6.5, rounded to Band 6.0 for minor organizational and precision lapses.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response exhibits a clear overall arrangement, moving logically from an introduction to general changes, current layout details, and finally the future layout details. Paragraphing is attempted, though paragraph boundaries and transitions could be managed more cohesively. The writer relies on basic cohesive devices and sometimes mechanical linking phrases, such as 'At present' and 'In future plans', which are repeated excessively. Additionally, referencing is occasionally repetitive or slightly confusing, as seen with the multiple restarts describing the central pool area. Cohesion is sometimes faulty, and referencing is not always completely clear. Therefore, this performance fits comfortably within Band 6.0.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully using terms like 'redevelopment', 'rectangular pool', 'seating', and 'reception'. However, there are notable lexical inaccuracies and awkward word choices, such as 'outdoor courts are expelled' instead of removed, and 'the cente of the sports centre is representing a plan', which lacks natural collocation and precise usage. Less common lexical items are attempted, but spelling and word-choice errors, such as 'cente' instead of centre, occur. While these errors do not impede overall communication, they prevent the response from reaching a higher band, making Band 6.0 the most appropriate assessment.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating attempts at relative clauses and prepositional phrases (e.g., 'surrounded by the changing room to the west, gym to the north'). There are several noticeable grammatical errors and awkward phrasing, including subject-verb agreement issues and tense inconsistencies, such as 'the future layout of the sports centre shows that outdoor courts are expelled' and 'consist of pool'. Punctuation is generally basic. Although these errors do not severely impede communication, they occur frequently enough across the text to prevent the writer from achieving a Band 7.0, firmly placing this performance at Band 6.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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