Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-10-16

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 displays the floor plan of a liberary how it looks 20 years ago and know after various changes.

Overall, the floor plan underwent through several changes like a storytelling event, sofa and children's fiction books added in the new plan. A cafe is also opened and self service machine are now introduced.moreover, table and chairs are removed from the entrance.

it can saw that children's books room is know lecture room. CDs, video games are replaced by storytelling events and sofa's are also included in the room. The area allocated for adult fiction books is now contains all refrence books. due to technological advancements the reading room is changed into comuter room. The main entrance is empty and table & chairs are removed. In adult non fiction books room new adult fiction books, information desk and self service machines can be seen. Another major transformation is additon of a cafe in the liberary floor plan.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response6.0
Coherence and Cohesion5.0
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify several important changes, including the new storytelling area, café, computer room and self-service machines, and you make relevant comparisons between the two plans. The overview also recognises that the layout has changed substantially. However, some details are inaccurate or unclear: the children’s books room becomes a lecture room, while the CDs/videos/games room becomes the children’s fiction and storytelling area; your account reverses or blurs these changes. The former adult non-fiction area is now adult fiction, and the former adult fiction area becomes reference books. You mention these changes, but the relationships between old and new locations need to be stated more precisely. A clearer overview of the main reorganisation, supported by accurate location-by-location comparisons, would strengthen the response.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has a basic overall structure: an introduction, an overview and a paragraph describing individual changes. This helps the reader recognise that you are comparing the two plans. However, progression within the description is not consistently clear. For example, the sequence beginning “it can saw that” moves between rooms without a clear organising route, and the final sentence repeats the café change already mentioned in the overview. Linking words such as “moreover,” “due to” and “another” are used, but some connections feel mechanical or do not clarify the relationship between features. Group the changes by location or by type, and use clear references such as “in the former…” to distinguish the old and new layouts.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for describing a library plan, including “floor plan,” “allocated,” “entrance,” “information desk” and “self service machines.” These terms show an adequate task-related range, and the main ideas are generally understandable. However, spelling and word-choice errors are noticeable, including “liberary,” “refrence,” “comuter” and “additon.” Some phrases are also imprecise or unnatural, such as “a storytelling event … added” when the plan labels a storytelling area, and “the main entrance is empty,” which does not accurately describe the central area. Use precise labels from the plan and check spelling and collocations carefully; this would make the description clearer and more controlled.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt a mixture of simple statements and longer structures, for example “Overall, the floor plan underwent through several changes” and “The area allocated for adult fiction books is now contains all refrence books.” However, some sentence patterns are faulty, and these errors sometimes make relationships between features difficult to follow. Examples include “it can saw,” “is now contains,” and “Another major transformation is additon of a cafe,” where the verb forms or sentence construction are not controlled. There are also problems with articles, agreement and punctuation, such as “self service machine are” and the run-together “introduced.moreover.” Practise accurate present and past forms for map comparisons, and proofread each sentence for a complete, correctly punctuated structure.

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

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