Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-09-18

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)

Here are the two maps, one is illustrating the University Sports center today while other is showing how it will look in future after the redevelopment.Reception area is at the bottom of the map.There is a poll, 25 meter long, located at the center of map.On the east side of pool , is the sitting area.On the other hand, on west side of poll , is changing room.Gym is situated on the north side of the poll.Moreover, there are two outdoors courts, each located at east and west corner of map respectively.On the other hand new map has some additional buildings which are designed to build in future.Area for reception, gym,and sitting remains intact while one of the outdoor courts located at east, will be replaced by sports hall.Furthermore, outdoor court on the west side will turn into leisure poll.On the north and south sides of sports hall there will be dance studios.Two changing rooms wiil be built on south east and south west corner of the map. there will be cafe next to the one of changing rooms located on south east corner while sports shop will be at south west corner.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The student addresses the prompt by describing both the present and future layouts of the university sports centre, successfully identifying key features such as the 25m pool, gym, outdoor courts, and proposed additions like the leisure pool, sports hall, and dance studios. However, the response lacks a clear overall overview comparing the general expansion of the facility. Additionally, there are minor spatial misreadings, such as stating that the dance studios are on the north and south sides of the sports hall, whereas the transcription shows them aligned along the eastern wall. Despite these minor inaccuracies, the core comparisons are made, earning a solid Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The essay displays a basic chronological and spatial arrangement, moving from the present map to future changes. However, paragraphing is extremely poor, with the entire response compressed into two massive blocks of text, severely limiting progression and readability. Cohesive devices are repetitive and basic (e.g., 'On the other hand', 'Moreover', 'Furthermore'), and spacing punctuation is frequently missing (e.g., 'today while other', 'pool , is', 'gym,and'). While the overall information is followable, the lack of paragraph structure and mechanical cohesion restrict the score to Band 5.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student uses a sufficient range of vocabulary to describe the map features, such as 'redevelopment', 'intact', 'replaced', and 'additional buildings'. However, there are notable spelling errors ('poll' instead of 'pool' repeatedly, 'wiil', 'cafe') and some awkward collocations ('outdoors courts', 'sitting area'). Less common vocabulary is attempted with limited success. The lexical range is adequate for a basic description but is hindered by recurrent spelling mistakes and restricted flexibility, aligning with a Band 5.5 descriptor.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence forms (e.g., 'Area for reception, gym, and sitting remains intact while one of the outdoor courts located at east, will be replaced by sports hall'). Grammatical errors include missing articles ('on west side', 'at east'), incorrect prepositions, and persistent punctuation spacing issues. While the majority of simple sentences are clear, structural inaccuracies and punctuation faults occur frequently enough to impede smooth reading at times, placing the performance firmly in the Band 5.0 category.

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

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