Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-11-14

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.

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

Student answer (Band 5.5)

The map illustrate the strategies show the college cafe when it was not designed and now it is organize. Both cafe shows the difference between now and in the past. We will describe both point of view that display in diagram.

In this diagram the main difference is outdoor seating area that are was not held in past, so this sitting area is occupy for barbecue where everyone enjoy with barbecue party. The other main difference is bin that are replaced by the recycling bins becauce the bin is old fashion and this in new. The opposite side of recycling bins is the portion of salad bar this portion is organised for diet consious people.

The other main differences is servising area it replaced by the hot meals and the dinning room is replaced by the take away food and coffee bar.

In conclude that cafe is expand rather than the old cafe and new things are invent in this cafeand many benefits for those people.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify several genuine changes, including the addition of outdoor seating and a barbecue, the replacement of the bin with recycling bins, and the new salad bar, hot-meal counter, takeaway section and coffee bar. However, the response only partially summarises the plans: it gives little account of what remains unchanged, such as the central tables and chairs and the toilets, and does not clearly describe the layout or compare the two plans systematically. Some details are inaccurate or unclear: the barbecue is an area beside the outdoor seating, rather than the seating area itself, and the text says the seating area is “occupy for barbecue.” The opening also does not provide a clear overview of the main changes. A more complete summary would distinguish additions, replacements and features that stayed in the same position.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic paragraph structure: an introduction, a paragraph describing several changes, and a brief conclusion. It also uses simple linking expressions such as “The other main difference” and “In conclude,” so the reader can recognise that you are comparing the café before and after redesign. However, the progression is not consistently clear. The first paragraph repeats the idea that the plans show differences, while the second moves between outdoor seating, bins and the salad bar without a clear organising principle. References such as “this portion” and “this sitting area” are not always precise, and the conclusion introduces a general claim about benefits rather than summarising the key changes. Grouping changes by location or by additions and replacements would make the comparison easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant vocabulary for describing a plan, including “recycling bins,” “salad bar,” “hot meals,” “take away food” and “outdoor seating.” This shows a basic range connected to the task. However, word choice, spelling and collocation errors are noticeable and sometimes make the meaning difficult to interpret. For example, “not designed” does not clearly mean “before the redesign,” “the cafe is expand” is not an appropriate way to describe the changes, and “new things are invent” is imprecise. There are also misspellings such as “becauce,” “consious” and “servising.” Aim for accurate, conventional map vocabulary and avoid unsupported explanations such as saying the bins changed because the old one was “old fashion.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response attempts a few longer sentences, including “The other main difference is outdoor seating area that are was not held in past,” but these structures are often faulty. Errors in agreement, verb forms, articles and sentence construction occur throughout: “The map illustrate,” “Both cafe shows,” “the sitting area is occupy,” and “the cafe is expand” are examples. The opening sentence is also difficult to parse because several clauses are joined without a clear grammatical relationship. Most sentences rely on simple patterns, and the attempts to add relative clauses or explanations do not yet provide reliable control. Practise accurate simple comparisons first, then build longer sentences—for example, “The former staff dining rooms have been replaced by a takeaway counter and a coffee bar.”

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