Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-10-12

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 5.0)

The diagram compares the current look of a library after developments and intial layout of 20 years ago.

Overall, library under went extensive development with most notable changes including addition of a cafe, lecture room, computer room and some changes to the location of services.

The intial floor of library had tables and chairs in the middle adjacent to the entrance and adult fiction books to the west side of it and adult non fiction books to the east side. Besides that, there was a place for children books in the north east corner and next to them an enquiry desk where people can find about tickets, book returns and other services. Similarly, on the west north corner, there was a place designated to computer operations such as CDs and video games, and next to it, in west south corner, there was a reading room.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0

The response identifies several accurate features of the earlier plan, including the central tables and chairs, adult fiction and non-fiction on opposite sides, and the children’s area and reading room. However, it does not describe the library today at all, despite the task requiring a comparison of both plans. This omission leaves the main changes—such as the new café, lecture room, computer room, information desk and self-service machines—unreported, so the task is addressed only minimally. The overview mentions some additions but does not explain how the layout changed, and the final sentence misplaces the enquiry desk: it was in the south-east area, not beside the children’s books in the north-east. The response is also five words below the required minimum. Cover both plans and report the most important changes.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an opening statement, an overview, and a paragraph describing the former layout. This gives the reader a basic route through the information, and phrases such as “Overall” and “Besides that” signal relationships between points. However, there is no description of the current plan, so the comparison has no progression from past to present and the response ends abruptly after listing earlier features. Some linking is also imprecise: “Similarly” does not clearly show how the reading room relates to the preceding information. Organise the details by plan or by area, and use clear contrasts such as “whereas” and “in the current layout” to guide the reader through the changes.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The response uses some relevant vocabulary for describing a floor plan, including “adjacent,” “west side,” “north east corner,” and “designated,” and the reader can generally understand the locations being described. There is also an attempt to use more formal wording in “extensive development.” However, several choices are inaccurate or awkward, including “current look,” “initial floor,” and “a place for children books”; these reduce precision in a task where exact labels and locations matter. Spelling errors such as “intial” and “cafe” also affect presentation. Build a more precise range of plan vocabulary, for example “layout,” “section,” “relocated,” and “converted,” and use the labels shown in the diagram consistently.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response includes a mix of sentence forms, including the overview sentence with “including” and a longer sentence describing the former layout. Most of the meaning remains understandable, but grammatical control is uneven. For example, “library under went extensive development” has an incorrect verb form and lacks an article, while “there was a place for children books” needs a possessive form or a more suitable noun phrase. The long final sentence also joins several locations and details in a way that makes the relationships less clear. Use articles consistently (“the library”), check subject–verb and verb-form choices, and divide long descriptions into shorter sentences. More accurate complex sentences would make the comparisons easier to follow.

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

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