Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-11-11

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

The plans below show a college cafe before it was redesigned and how it looks now.

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

The plans below show a college cafe before it was redesigned and how it looks now.

Student answer (Band 5.5)

The two pictures illustrate the palns a college cafe before it was redesigned and how it looks at present.

Overall, the staff dinning room has now converted into two parts Takeway food and Coffee bar, serving area for all food and drinks is now changed entirely to a area where hot meals will be served.

The area alloted for tables and chairs are now reduced because a salad bar was opened at the left corner.The area where bin was there is now converted into reclycling bin.It occupies more space than the bin and hence reduces more space for tables and chairs.

On the plan there was no design for any other designated arrangement but outside the plan today we have barbecue and outdoor sitting arrangement for people which make the design look more sophisticaated than before.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify several important changes, including the former staff dining rooms becoming takeaway and coffee areas, the serving counter changing to hot meals, and the addition of outdoor seating and a barbecue. However, the overview is limited and some details are inaccurate or unclear: the seating area is said to be reduced by the salad bar and recycling bins, but the plans do not establish that the recycling bins occupy more space. You also omit notable features such as the new salad bar’s position and the two new southern doors. The response is below the required 150 words, with 125 words counted; the 11 words copied from the prompt were excluded. Develop the comparisons more fully and report only changes supported by the plans.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable progression: an introduction, an overview, changes inside the café, and additions outside. This paragraphing helps the reader follow the main points. Linking expressions such as “Overall,” “because,” and “hence” also show attempts to connect ideas. However, the overview and detail paragraphs are not always clearly distinguished, and the reasoning in “It occupies more space … and hence reduces more space” is difficult to follow because the plan does not show this effect. Some references, such as “the area” and “it,” are vague. Use clearer topic sentences and organise the changes by location or by what was retained versus added, with precise references to each feature.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use a relevant range of vocabulary for describing a redesign, including “converted,” “recycling bin,” “designated arrangement,” and “outdoor sitting arrangement.” These choices make the main changes understandable, and you attempt to describe spatial and functional differences. However, several spelling and word-choice errors reduce precision, including “palns,” “dinning,” “alloted,” “reclycling,” and “sophisticaated.” Some phrases are also unnatural or imprecise, such as “converted into a area” and “outside the plan today.” Prefer standard plan-description language such as “was replaced by,” “was added,” and “outdoor seating area.” Check spelling carefully and choose terms that describe the features shown rather than making unsupported claims about their size or effect.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt a mixture of simple statements and more complex structures, including the overview sentence with “while” implied by the comparison and the causal construction “because … and hence.” The main message is generally understandable, but grammatical control is uneven. For example, “The area … are now reduced” has a subject–verb agreement error, while “has now converted into” needs a passive form (“has been converted into”). Articles and sentence construction also need attention in “changed entirely to a area,” and the long sentence about the bin joins ideas awkwardly. Practise accurate passive forms for describing changes, agreement with singular subjects, and article use. Shorter, well-controlled comparison sentences would improve clarity while still allowing some complex structures.

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