Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-10-20

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 current layout of a public library, comparing its previous structure from over 20 years ago.

Overall, the area and dimensions of the layout remains fairly intact today with minor changes in the plan of the cafe and and book section.

The current floor plan has incorporated an information desk which is adjacent to the adult fiction books section and self service machines. It has also included a separate area for all the reference books, which can be accessed after entering from the entrance.Whereas, the previous structure had only two sections for adult fiction and non-fiction books towards the entrance. The childrens book room has been converted to a lecture room. Furthermore, the area which stored all the CDs, videos and computer games has been removed and it now includes two sofas for story telling events, followed a region for childrens fiction books in the same room.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify several important changes, including the new information desk and self-service machines, the conversion of the former children’s-book room into a lecture room, and the addition of a computer room and café. However, the overview is not fully accurate: the plan’s dimensions are not stated to remain intact, and the café is new rather than a changed existing feature. Some comparisons are also unclear or incomplete. For example, the former CDs-and-games room is now used for children’s fiction and storytelling, but the response says the items were removed without clearly explaining this replacement. Include the reading room’s removal and the former enquiry desk’s replacement, and describe the main changes more precisely.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic progression from an introduction and overview to details about the current plan and comparisons with the earlier one. Linking words such as “Overall,” “Whereas,” and “Furthermore” help signal relationships between points. However, the overview is brief and partly inaccurate, while the body combines several changes in long sentences, making the sequence of locations and time periods harder to follow. The transition beginning “Whereas” is not integrated smoothly with the preceding sentence, and “after entering from the entrance” is unclear as a reference to the library layout. Organise the details into clearer groups—for example, left side, right side, and central area—and use explicit contrasts between the two plans.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for describing a floor plan, including “layout,” “adjacent,” “section,” “converted,” and “incorporated.” This gives you enough range to communicate several changes. However, some choices are imprecise or repetitive: “previous structure” is less suitable than “former layout,” and “the area which stored” does not describe a room naturally. “Plan of the cafe and and book section” is unclear, and “self service” and “story telling” need standard compound forms. Aim for precise terms such as “room,” “area,” “relocated,” and “replaced,” and avoid describing the plan as a “structure” when you mean its internal arrangement. More accurate collocations would make the comparisons easier to understand.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mixture of simple and more complex sentences, including a comparison with “Whereas” and a clause beginning “which stored.” Meaning is generally recoverable, but several errors affect accuracy. In “the area and dimensions of the layout remains,” the plural subject requires “remain”; the sentence also needs a clearer construction. “The current floor plan has incorporated” is an awkward tense choice for describing a completed change, and “followed a region” lacks a grammatical link to the preceding clause. There are also punctuation and spacing problems, such as the missing space after “entrance.” Check subject–verb agreement, use past and present forms consistently when comparing plans, and divide long sentences where their grammatical structure becomes difficult to control.

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