Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-09-16
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 plan illustrates the map of a university's sports centre before and after the rennovation.
Overall, they have split the side areas into many new facilities while it's main structure remained same after redevelopment.
The centre part of the sports centre is same as in old building. Gym at the North side as followed by 25m pool and recption in fron of the entrance. However, both east and west outdoor courts has been removed from the plan. An eddition of a big leasiure pool on west and sports hall on west side has been placed in new map. Moreover, two small dance studios have been added to the north east corner.
A cafe has been introduced near the entrance on the south side near the entrace of the sports club. The spare area in the south east corner has turned into an additional changing room however, the older changing room remained at the same place as in older map. Furthermore, a brand new shop is there on left side of the recpetion followin
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0
The student successfully covers all parts of the task by identifying the main features of the university sports centre before and after redevelopment. Key transformations are reported, such as the removal of the outdoor courts and the expansion of the building to accommodate a leisure pool, sports hall, dance studios, and a café. An overview is provided in the second paragraph, outlining the general expansion while noting that the central structure remains largely unchanged. However, there are some slight geographical inaccuracies and under-developments; for instance, the student states that a sports hall has been placed 'on west side', whereas the source plan shows it on the eastern side. Despite these minor misreadings, the core requirements of Task 1 are adequately met.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response has a coherent overall arrangement, moving from an introductory statement to an overview and then detailing specific spatial changes. Paragraphing is attempted, although the structure could be improved by separating the introduction more clearly from the body details. Cohesive devices are used to link ideas (e.g., 'Overall', 'However', 'Moreover', 'Furthermore'), but some transitions feel mechanical or repetitive, such as the repeated use of 'on west side'. Referencing is occasionally unclear, and the abrupt ending ('followin') disrupts the logical flow of the final sentence. Overall progression is visible, but cohesion requires more precision.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully employing terms related to architectural layouts and facilities such as 'redevelopment', 'facilities', 'leisure pool', 'dance studios', and 'changing room'. However, there are noticeable spelling errors ('rennovation', 'it's' for 'its', 'recption', 'in fron', 'eddition', 'leasiure', 'recpetion', 'followin') and awkward word choices ('split the side areas', 'older building'). These errors do not completely impede communication, but they restrict the lexical score to the Band 5.5-6.0 range, reflecting a mix of appropriate vocabulary and frequent spelling lapses.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and prepositional phrases (e.g., 'The plan illustrates the map of a university's sports centre before and after the rennovation'). However, grammatical accuracy is inconsistent. There are several structural and agreement errors, such as 'while it's main structure remained same', 'Gym at the North side as followed by', 'outdoor courts has been removed', and missing words or unfinished sentences ('a brand new shop is there on left side of the recpetion followin'). Control over punctuation and articles is also weak in places. These frequent errors cause occasional difficulty for the reader.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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