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 given maps demonstrates the institute cafe layout before or after renovation. The major development occurs in the central part of the cafe.

Many new additions had been occur in the cafe after redesign, such as, the addition of two new gates on left side of the wall. Another addition is outdoor sitting,where the barbecue place is also formed.The addition of salad bar in the corner of main area of cafe. Many things remain same as toilets, kitchen.

Moreover, many places change into new additions such as area designated to serving area ( all food and drink) changed into hot meal after renovation. The numbers of bin is also increased. The two room alloted for staff also changed into take away food and coffee bar after redesign.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify several relevant changes, including the new outdoor seating and barbecue, the salad bar, and the conversion of the staff dining rooms into a takeaway area and coffee bar. You also note that the kitchen and toilets remain. However, the response is under the required 150 words, and the overview that “the major development occurs in the central part” is not well supported: the most notable changes include the new outdoor area and altered facilities around the café. Some details are inaccurate or unclear, such as saying there are two new gates on the left; the new doors are on the southern wall. The change from one bin to recycling bins is also not an increase in their number. Cover the main changes more accurately and explain them more fully.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic overall sequence: it introduces the redesign, lists additions, and then describes changes to existing facilities. Linking expressions such as “Moreover” and “Many things remain same” help signal relationships between points. However, the ideas are compressed into two paragraphs, and the progression is not always clear. For example, “Many new additions had been occur” leads into several changes without a clear distinction between indoor and outdoor features. The phrase “Many places change into new additions” also makes the relationship between the old and new layouts difficult to follow. Organise the report into a brief overview followed by grouped comparisons, and use clear references to the before and current plans.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant vocabulary for describing a plan, including “renovation,” “outdoor sitting,” “barbecue,” “salad bar,” and “designated.” This gives you a minimally adequate range for the task. However, several choices are inaccurate or unnatural, such as “gates” for the new doors, “barbecue place,” and “the numbers of bin.” “Addition” is repeated, and “many places change into new additions” does not clearly express the changes. Use precise plan vocabulary and natural collocations, such as “entrances,” “outdoor seating area,” “recycling bins,” and “was converted into.” This would make the comparisons easier to understand and reduce the effect of noticeable word-choice errors.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response attempts some longer sentences, including “Many things remain same as toilets, kitchen,” but the range is limited and errors occur frequently. The opening has a subject–verb agreement error in “maps demonstrates,” while “had been occur” uses an incorrect verb form. Other examples include missing articles in “remain same” and “in corner,” and the sentence “The numbers of bin is also increased,” which has problems with number agreement and verb construction. Punctuation and spacing are also inconsistent, as in “sitting,where.” These errors sometimes make relationships between ideas unclear. Practise accurate simple past and present forms for comparing plans, and build longer sentences only when you can control their grammar.

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

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