Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-11-13

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)

These plan charts show the college cafe how it was before and how lt is today.

Overall, the cafe has 3-4 sections before when it will be redisgned and will have around 8 sections plus outdoor seating.

To begin with, when the cafe was not fully designed it had 3-4 sections, first is kitchen, in front of it there was serving and food area, staff dining rooms where staff caneat their lunch, toilets were there at the corner beside the bin. A bin was also there and two enterances.

Now, moving on to today's cafe what are here, there are now 8 sections that are kitchen and the serrving area has been replaced by hot meals sections where all trendy meals are there, staff dining room have been replaced by take away food and coffee bar, bin has been replaced by recycling bins section and salad bar has also added, barbeque section is added and table and chairs are inside and outside also. In past there were two entrances now there are four entrances.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the main transformation: the former staff dining rooms become takeaway and coffee areas, the serving counter changes to hot meals, and recycling bins and a salad bar are added. You also note the new outdoor seating and barbecue, so the response covers several important features. However, the overview is unclear and partly inaccurate: “3-4 sections” and “around 8 sections” do not give a meaningful summary of the redesign, and the café is described as “not fully designed” rather than simply before the redesign. Some details are imprecise, such as saying there are four entrances; the plan shows two new southern doors in addition to the existing entrance. A clearer overview and more precise comparisons would make the key changes easier to understand.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a basic overall sequence, moving from the former layout to the current one, and phrases such as “To begin with” and “Now, moving on” help signal that shift. The information is also grouped into two main stages. However, the progression within each stage is sometimes difficult to follow because several features are packed into long, loosely connected sentences. For example, the sentence beginning “Now, moving on to today's cafe” lists many changes without clearly separating them by location or type. The opening overview also does not prepare the reader well for the details. Organise the description into clearer paragraphs and group changes—for example, interior changes first, then the new outdoor area—to make the comparisons more coherent.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant layout vocabulary, including “kitchen,” “serving area,” “staff dining rooms,” “recycling bins,” and “outdoor seating,” which allows the reader to recognise many features. However, the range is limited and some wording is imprecise or repetitive. “Sections” is used repeatedly as a general label, while “what are here” and “where staff caneat their lunch” are not natural ways to describe a plan. There are also noticeable spelling errors, including “redisgned,” “enterances,” “serrving,” and “barbeque.” Use more precise terms such as “facilities,” “areas,” and “counter,” and check spelling carefully. More accurate location and change vocabulary would help you describe the plan with greater precision.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more extended sentence forms, and the reader can generally understand the intended comparison. However, some errors in tense, agreement, articles, and sentence construction reduce accuracy. For example, “the cafe has 3-4 sections before when it will be redisgned” mixes present and future forms, while “staff dining room have been replaced” has a subject–verb agreement error. The phrase “salad bar has also added” is missing the passive auxiliary, and “what are here” does not form a correct clause. Several sentences also run together through repeated use of “and.” Practise describing past and present layouts consistently, and use complete, controlled sentences such as “The staff dining rooms have been replaced by a takeaway area and a coffee bar.”

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