Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-09-12

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

The diagram below shows the floor plan of a public library 20 years ago and how it looks now.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

Central Library 20 years ago

Student answer (Band 5.5)

The diagram illustrates the transformation of the Central Library's layout over the span of two decades. These changes striking the modernization of library and make it comfortable and useful for users.

Twenty years ago, the library was divided into sections for various types of books and media. The children section was dedicated to books, while other section allocated for CDs, videos and computer games. Additionally, the adult section was ditributed into fiction and non-fiction books. The reading room was especially arranged for newspapers and magazines, while the last corner was occupied by enquiry desk where tickets and book returns and other services were handled.

In contrast, in the present days, the library has undergone changes. The children area currently contain exclusively books, sofas and opreate for storytelling events. The adult books sections is consolidated to single area, information desk and automatic machines is installed beside it. Furthermore, the library has expanded services including computer room and cafe. However, the tables and chairs has been removed from the center of library

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response covers all parts of the task by identifying and reporting the main features of the Central Library from the two provided time periods, and makes relevant comparisons. You successfully highlight key changes such as the transformation of the children area, the consolidation of adult books, and the introduction of new facilities like the cafe and computer room. The opening overview sentence captures the overall trend of modernization effectively, meeting the requirements of an academic task well. However, minor details could be slightly more integrated into a cohesive comparative overview, placing this response comfortably at a band 6.5 or 7.0 for fully addressing the prompt while presenting clear and relevant ideas.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear chronological division between the past layout and current changes, supported by transition signals such as 'Twenty years ago' and 'In contrast, in the present days'. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate introduction, past layout, and present layout. However, cohesion is sometimes faulty or mechanical, as seen with abrupt transitions and awkward phrasing between sentences, for instance 'However, the tables and chairs has been removed from the center of library' acting almost as a standalone concluding thought without smooth integration. Referencing and cohesive devices are minimally adequate but occasionally lack variety and seamless flow, matching the descriptors for band 6.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common words and topic-specific terms like 'modernization', 'transformation', and 'consolidation'. However, there are noticeable lexical and collocational inaccuracies throughout the text, such as 'changes striking the modernization', 'children section' instead of 'children's section', 'ditributed', 'opreate' (operate), and 'single area'. These errors do not completely impede communication because the general meaning remains clear, but they restrict the lexical score. To push into higher bands, greater precision in word choice, correct word forms, and accurate spelling are required, aligning this response with a band 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and introductory prepositional phrases like 'Twenty years ago, the library was divided into...'. Nevertheless, there are frequent grammatical errors in verb forms, agreement, and voice, including 'These changes striking', 'other section allocated', 'children area currently contain', 'opreate for storytelling', 'is consolidated', and 'tables and chairs has been removed'. These errors indicate that simple sentences are handled with more reliability than complex structures, and subject-verb agreement needs careful attention. Because the errors occur frequently but rarely impede overall understanding of the message, a band score of 5.5 is appropriate.

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

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