Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 13 · 2026-10-22

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 given plan demonstrates the layout of a university's sports center in present and how it's gonna look after redevelopment. It shows that the center has outdoor courts now but after redevelopment it will all become indoor redevelopment.

It can be seen that in present and in future plan the area is same but in new plan it shows that there will be cafe and sports shop moreover it will have dance studios,changing rooms and sports hall in the east removing the outdoor courts from both sides. They added a leisure pool and a changing room in the place of West outdoor court.

Moreover, the Gym size increased in the university's future redevelopment plans while leaving the reception area same in both present and future Plans.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the main change: the outdoor courts are absorbed into an expanded indoor centre, with new facilities added. You also correctly note the larger gym and the reception remaining in place. However, the overview is brief and some details are incomplete or imprecise: the leisure pool replaces the western courts, while the eastern courts are replaced by a sports hall and two dance studios; the new café and additional changing rooms are also not clearly located. The statement that “the area is same” is unclear because the building expands substantially. The response is 24 words below the required minimum, which limits the opportunity to select and explain the main features. Develop the comparison with more precise locations and a fuller overview.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic progression from the present layout to the proposed changes, and linking expressions such as “Moreover” help signal additions. The reader can follow the broad contrast between outdoor courts and new indoor facilities. However, the ideas are compressed into three paragraphs without a clear overview separated from the detailed comparisons. The second paragraph combines several changes in one long sentence, making the locations and relationships harder to follow. “It can be seen that in present and in future plan” also does not clearly introduce the comparison. Organise the response into an introduction, a concise overview, and paragraphs grouping changes by side or area; use clear references such as “on the western side” and “in the south-east.”

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant task vocabulary, including “outdoor courts,” “leisure pool,” “dance studios,” “changing rooms,” and “sports hall,” so the main facilities are generally identifiable. There is also an attempt to describe change with “increased” and “removing.” However, the range of change language is limited, and some choices are imprecise or repetitive: “it will all become indoor redevelopment” does not express the transformation naturally, while “the area is same” is vague. “In the place of West outdoor court” is also an awkward way to describe replacement. Use precise verbs such as “replace,” “extend,” and “be converted into,” and vary location phrases to make the comparisons clearer.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response includes some longer sentence forms, for example the sentence beginning “It can be seen that,” and the main message is usually understandable. However, control is uneven, particularly in complex sentences. “The given plan demonstrates the layout … in present” is missing an article and uses an incomplete time expression; “in present and in future plan” has similar article and number problems. The phrase “it will all become indoor redevelopment” also has an unclear grammatical construction. There are punctuation and spacing issues, including “studios,changing” and inconsistent capitalisation of “Plans.” Aim for accurate comparisons such as “The centre currently has outdoor courts, but these will be replaced by indoor facilities,” and check articles, plurals, and sentence boundaries.

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