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 illustration gives the information about architectural design of the cafe before and after renovation. Overall, in recent desing there are lot more sitting place than the previous ones also they separate the food and the coffe shops in the new design.

It is quite evident from the diagram that there is no change in the kitchen area as well as the toilets area. Tables and chairs have covered most of the space in both previous and current design. Although there a single recyle bin in the previous design but now there are more than one recycling bins.

Furthermore, indoor seating have been removed. Food take away and coffee shops are opened in the place of staff dining room. Hot meals are now surving from the place which are used for surving area for all food and drink. Two more new things introduced in the new design which is barbecue and salad bar/

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the main purpose of the plans and give a useful overview: the redesign adds food options and changes the seating provision, while the kitchen and toilets remain. You also accurately mention the former staff dining rooms becoming takeaway and coffee areas, and the new salad bar and barbecue. However, some important changes are omitted or unclear. In particular, the outdoor seating area and its access through new southern doors are not described, and the claim that there are “lot more sitting place” is not supported: the central tables and chairs remain, while the former staff dining rooms are repurposed. Develop the comparison by describing the new outdoor tables and the changed facilities more precisely.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction and overview are followed by details about unchanged features and then the redesign. This gives the reader a generally coherent account, and connectors such as “Overall,” “Although,” and “Furthermore” help signal relationships. However, progression is not always smooth. The sentence beginning “Although there a single…” is incomplete and does not connect clearly to the next point, while the final paragraph lists several changes without a clear spatial order. Grouping information by unchanged features, changes inside the café, and additions outside would make the comparison easier to follow. Use linking expressions to show contrasts accurately rather than relying on them mechanically.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for describing a plan, including “renovation,” “design,” “staff dining room,” “recycling bins,” and “barbecue.” This gives you enough range to communicate the main changes, but several word-choice, spelling, and collocation problems reduce precision. For example, “sitting place” is unnatural in this context, “coffee shops” suggests separate businesses rather than a coffee bar, and “surving” is not the correct form of “serving.” There are also misspellings such as “desing,” “coffe,” and “recyle.” Aim for accurate plan-specific terms such as “seating,” “coffee bar,” and “counter,” and check spelling carefully. More precise vocabulary would also help distinguish indoor seating from the new outdoor area.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt a mixture of simple statements and more complex forms, including “Although…” and “which are used for…,” but control is uneven. Some sentences communicate clearly, such as “It is quite evident from the diagram that there is no change in the kitchen area as well as the toilets area.” Other structures contain errors that make relationships harder to understand: “Although there a single…” lacks a verb, and “Two more new things introduced… which is…” has problems with the passive verb and subject–verb agreement. Articles, plurals, and agreement also need attention, as in “the coffe shops” and “indoor seating have been removed.” Practise complete clauses and consistent past-versus-present forms when comparing the two plans.

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