Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-09-13
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 plans illustrate the current layout of university's sports centre and the changes to the centre after redevlopment.
Overall, the sports centre will be signifficuntly expanded and modernised with outdoor courts replaced by indoor facilities. the main sport area, including gym, pool reception will remian, while new facilities such as changeing room, cafe, and dance studio will be added.
At present, the sports centre has a gym in northern side part, while swimming pool is located in the centre. There are changing room on the western side and seating area on the eastren side. while outdoor courts in the both sides of the building.
After redevlopment, the sports centre will be expanded. the outdoor courts will be replaced by an dance studio on the east side and a westren outdoor replaced by leisure pool. new changeing room in both corner building, entrence left side added sports shop and right side added cafe. while gym, pool, and seating will remain in the main building.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0
The response successfully covers all parts of the task by outlining the main features of the current sports centre and comparing them with the proposed redevelopment plans. The overview correctly identifies the key transformations, such as the expansion of the facility and the replacement of outdoor courts with indoor amenities. Specific details regarding the retention of the main gym and pool, alongside the addition of a dance studio, a café, a sports shop, and new changing rooms, are well-reported. However, there are some minor descriptive inaccuracies regarding precise locations, such as stating that the outdoor courts are in 'the both sides' when they are situated in the east and west. Overall, the information is appropriately selected and supports a clear summary, aligning well with the Band 6.0 descriptors.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The report displays a coherent overall arrangement with a logical division into an introduction, an overview paragraph, a description of the current layout, and a description of the future layout. Progression is generally evident, moving systematically from existing structures to planned changes. However, cohesion is sometimes faulty or mechanical, as seen in the use of fragment sentences and awkward transitions like 'while outdoor courts in the both sides' and 'while gym, pool, and seating will remain'. Paragraphing is present and separates the introduction, overview, and body paragraphs effectively, but referencing and linking within sentences could be smoother. This level of cohesion and organization corresponds to a Band 6.0.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating terms related to architectural layouts and facilities, such as 'redevelopment', 'modernised', 'leisure pool', and 'dance studio'. However, there are notable spelling errors throughout the text, including 'signifficuntly', 'redevlopment', 'changeing', and 'entrence'. Additionally, collocation and word choice errors appear, such as 'northern side part' and 'westren outdoor replaced'. These lexical inaccuracies and spelling slips occur with some frequency, though they do not seriously impede communication, placing the response firmly at Band 5.5.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, attempting comparative and future structures such as 'the sports centre will be signifficuntly expanded and modernised with outdoor courts replaced'. However, control over grammar and punctuation is inconsistent. There are missing articles ('a university's', 'an dance studio'), missing verbs, and incomplete sentence fragments (e.g., 'while outdoor courts in the both sides of the building'). Punctuation is occasionally neglected, such as missing capitalisation at the start of sentences like 'the main sport area' and 'the outdoor courts'. Because errors in grammar and structure occur frequently and sometimes cause slight difficulty for the reader, a Band 5.0 is appropriate.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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