Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-10-22

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 diagrams here illustrate the floor plan of a public library, differentiating how it looks now and 20 years ago. These diagrams clearly show that how various changes occur over the period of several years depicting some advancements in the today layout of library.

We can observe that old library diagram presents simple division of sections including table and chairs whereas today layout shows advancements including the addition of cafe and lecture room. It also has information desk for the readers as it lacks in previous floor plan.

Old diagram of library includes CDs, videos and computer games in one section and also has the area for reading newspapers and magazines. Central library today presents more facilities such as self-service machines. It has one section that has both children's fiction books as well as storytelling events for the readers. This section has sofa for the comfort of children. The other section before it has all reference books.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the overall contrast between the earlier plan and today’s, noting the new café, lecture room, information desk and self-service machines, as well as the former reading room and media section. These are relevant features, but the comparison is only partial and several major changes are omitted: for example, the central tables and chairs have been removed, reference books now occupy the former adult-fiction area, and the children’s and adult-fiction sections have changed position or function. The overview’s claim of “advancements” is also evaluative rather than a clear summary of the main spatial changes. Develop a more balanced account of both plans and explain where key facilities are located.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic progression: it introduces the comparison, gives a broad overview, and then describes selected facilities from the two plans. This makes the main topic understandable. However, the organisation is not consistently clear because the final paragraph moves between the old and current layouts without a systematic route through the plan. Phrases such as “The other section before it” have an unclear reference, and “It also has” does not clearly identify which plan is being discussed. Use separate paragraphs for the overview and the detailed comparisons, and group features by location or by old-versus-new plan. More precise referencing and linking would make the progression easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant vocabulary for describing a library plan, including “floor plan,” “self-service machines,” “reference books,” and “storytelling events.” This gives you a minimally adequate range for the task, and the reader can generally understand the facilities being compared. However, several expressions are imprecise or repetitive, such as “advancements,” “section,” and “area,” while “simple division of sections” and “today layout” are not natural collocations. The phrase “for the readers” is repeated and adds little information. Aim for more precise terms such as “facilities,” “zones,” “was replaced by,” and “is located,” and use them to describe the actual spatial changes rather than making general claims about improvement.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more extended sentence forms, and the basic meaning is usually recoverable. However, errors in sentence construction and grammatical patterns are frequent enough to make parts of the response awkward. For example, “show that how various changes occur” incorrectly combines “show that” with an indirect question, while “including table and chairs” needs a plural article pattern such as “including tables and chairs.” In “It also has information desk,” the singular count noun requires an article. The opening sentence’s “differentiating how it looks now and 20 years ago” is also an awkward construction. Practise accurate comparisons using forms such as “whereas,” “has been replaced by,” and “there is now,” checking articles and plural forms.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.