Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-11-12

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 plan illustrate a college cafe before it was redesigned and how it looks now. Plan illustrate that there is addition of things after redesigning the college cafe, outdoor seating with barbecue in outdoor area. There is also addition of salad bar in the cafe. Kitchen indoor sitting area and toilets remain same throughout. Recycle bin area wider than before.

Some more changes which are done in cafe are: The place which is the serving area(all food and drink) before, noew it is hot meals are there.

Staff dining rooms in the cafe changes one room is now carry take away food and other room convert and make coffe bar there.

There are two doors added one just beside the toilet to give access to the outdoor area and second door just opposite to the Kitchen and hot meals area just close to salad bar and barbecue area, in the outdoor seating

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify several important changes, including the new salad bar, outdoor seating and barbecue, the conversion of the staff dining rooms, and the change from a general serving area to hot meals. You also note that the kitchen and toilets remain. However, the overview is brief and some details are inaccurate or unclear: the recycling bins are described as “wider,” although the plan only shows bins replacing the single bin, and the locations of the two new southern doors are confused. The response also omits the central seating area’s continuity and gives little comparison of the overall layout. It is 140 words, below the required 150; develop the main changes with accurate location details to complete the task more fully.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has a basic sequence: it first summarises changes, then describes the former serving area and staff rooms, and finally mentions the new doors. This gives the reader some organisation, and phrases such as “before” and “now” help signal comparison. However, the progression is not consistently clear. The opening combines several points in a run-on sequence, while “Some more changes” introduces a list without grouping related features. The final sentence is especially difficult to follow because it combines door locations, the kitchen, hot meals, the salad bar and the barbecue. Use separate paragraphs for the overview and specific changes, and organise details by area, such as inside and outside.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for describing a plan, including “serving area,” “staff dining rooms,” “outdoor seating” and “access.” These terms help communicate the main transformations. However, the range is limited and several word choices or spellings reduce precision: “addition of things” is vague, “carry take away food” is not a natural label, and “coffe” and “Recycle” are misspelled. “Recycle bin area wider” also suggests a change in size that the plan does not show. Choose precise plan vocabulary and use the labels accurately—for example, say that recycling bins replace the bin, rather than describing the area as wider. More varied verbs such as “replaced,” “converted” and “added” would make comparisons clearer.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response attempts both simple statements and longer sentences, and the main message is generally recoverable. However, errors are frequent, and some sentence structures make relationships between features difficult to understand. For example, “The plan illustrate” has subject–verb disagreement, while “The place which is the serving area … before, noew it is hot meals are there” lacks a clear grammatical structure. The sentence beginning “There are two doors added” also combines several clauses without clear control. Practise accurate past and present forms when comparing the plans, and use complete sentences such as “The former serving area now provides hot meals.” Check agreement, articles and punctuation, and avoid joining too many details in one sentence.

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