Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-09-26
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 diagram illustrates the present layout of a sports centre, and how it will look in future after redevelopment.
Overall,the sports centre is so simple with some facilities in there,while in future new features will added.Also a leisure pool facility will be developed.
Today, two outdoor courts present on the right and left centre of the sport building.In main building, when you enter the building to the front door on south, you saw a reception desk in front of you.On the left side there is a changing room and seating is on the opposite side,while in between there is a 25m pool and gym is in north of the building.
In future,there is no outdoor courts.On the right side of seating facility u will find a sports hall and two dance studios.Two chaging rooms also added in future on each corner and there is also a sports shop and cafe in future plans.A leisure pool also created on north west corner of the building.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The student addresses the main aspects of both the present and future layouts of the university sports centre, making basic comparisons. The overview is attempted, noting that new facilities will be added and the sports centre will expand, but it is somewhat informal ('is so simple with some facilities in there'). Key changes are reported, such as the removal of outdoor courts, the addition of a leisure pool, sports hall, dance studios, and various other amenities. However, the description contains several minor inaccuracies in positioning and lacks a fully polished selection of key features. It satisfies the core requirements for an Academic Task 1, but the development of ideas remains somewhat basic and disjointed, aligning with a Band 5.5 to 6.0 performance.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The response is divided into four distinct paragraphs, separating the introduction, overview, present layout, and future plans. However, the internal cohesion within paragraphs is frequently mechanical and repetitive, relying heavily on phrases like 'in future', 'today', and 'in future plans'. The logical progression is somewhat hindered by abrupt transitions and informal phrasing ('when you enter the building to the front door on south, you saw a reception desk'). Paragraphing is present and structurally appropriate for a report, but referencing and cohesive devices are basic and sometimes faulty, supporting a Band 5.5 score.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary to describe the plans, including terms such as 'redevelopment', 'facilities', 'reception desk', and 'leisure pool'. However, there are notable word-choice errors and spelling mistakes, such as 'chaging rooms' instead of 'changing rooms' and awkward phrasings like 'sports centre is so simple' and 'outdoor courts present on the right'. Less common vocabulary is attempted with limited success and some unnatural collocations. The lexical range is minimally adequate for the task, which corresponds to a Band 5.5.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The response includes a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but control over grammar and punctuation is inconsistent. There are several tense and agreement errors, such as 'new features will added' (passive voice error), 'two outdoor courts present' (missing verb), and mixing present and past tenses inappropriately ('you saw a reception desk'). Punctuation is also flawed in places, such as missing spaces after commas ('Overall,the sports centre'). While communication is generally maintained, the frequency of grammatical errors places this response firmly at Band 5.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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