Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-09-17

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)

Introduction:

the mixed charts show that the university's spots center currently and how it will see few time later when its construction completed.

Overview:

The outdoors of university sports center are completely changed, now they are not on the front and back. The university dramatically change its sports center introduce the leisure pool, sports hall, dance studio, Cafe, sports shop.

Detailed Analysis:

The University plan to open a leisure pool in its west it is very wide. Similarly, add two dance studios in east side. Additionally, the university will be attaching the sports hall and a cafe in a south corner, sports shop.

However, the university thinking to make 2 more changing room in 2 different sides so it will be easy for the students. The middle part of the sports center remains constant. In contrast, gym area expand double the older one. While, center 25 meter pool, reception, seating and changing room could not change in its redevelopment.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response attempts to summarize the plans for the university sports centre, identifying major transformations such as the expansion of the gym and the addition of new facilities like the leisure pool, sports hall, and dance studios. However, the overview is somewhat disjointed, and the reporting of details is confused in places, such as stating that outdoor courts are no longer on the front and back when they have actually been built over by indoor expansions. The central features like the 25m pool and reception are correctly noted as remaining unchanged. Overall, the task is addressed, but the development and accuracy of features place this at a Band 5.5.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The text is organized with distinct paragraph headings such as 'Introduction:', 'Overview:', and 'Detailed Analysis:', although these meta-labels are unconventional for IELTS Task 1. Cohesive devices are used, but often inaccurately or mechanically (e.g., 'Similarly, add two dance studios', 'In contrast, gym area expand double'). Paragraphing is attempted, but the logical progression between sentences is frequently broken by awkward phrasing and structural shifts, resulting in a somewhat fragmented flow that affects overall coherence.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The lexical range is limited and basic for an Academic task, with frequent word choice and collocation errors (e.g., 'university's spots center', 'the university thinking to make'). There are attempts to use less common vocabulary like 'dramatically change', 'redevelopment', and 'constant', but these are often mishandled grammatically or contextually. Spelling and morphological errors are noticeable throughout the text (e.g., 'outdoors' used as a noun, 'attaching' instead of adding, 'expand' instead of expands), causing some strain for the reader.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The essay displays a very limited range of grammatical structures, relying heavily on simple sentences or flawed complex constructions. There are frequent, noticeable errors in tense, subject-verb agreement, and clause structure (e.g., 'the university's spots center currently and how it will see few time later', 'the university plan to open', 'gym area expand double'). Punctuation and capitalization are also erratic. These persistent errors frequently cause difficulty for the reader and prevent the response from achieving a higher band.

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

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