Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-08-03
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 illustrates the layout of college cafe before it was redesigning and how it is looks today.
Overall, the cafe has been significantly modernised. While kitchen and toilets have remained same as it is. Several new amenities have been introduced like coffee bar, takeaway food counter, desert section, outdoor seating.
Before the redesign, the kitchen was located in upper left corner with serving area. In the center of the cafe was occupied by tables and chairs.
While two staff dining room located middle of the building. A bin and toilets were situated on the right side near the entrance.
After the renovation, the serving area was replaced with hot meals counter inside the kitchen. Staff dining room was replaced with two new sections one coffee bar and second take away food counter. Added a salad bar near the entrance of the kitchen for that costumer those who on diet. Outside of the cafe introduce a desert section with seating arrangement. Bin converted into recycling bins and toilets and kitchen has remained same as it before.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response covers the main features of the redesign, such as the addition of the coffee bar, takeaway counter, and outdoor seating. However, the overview is slightly underdeveloped, and there are some inaccuracies in reporting the spatial changes. For instance, the description of the 'staff dining room' being replaced by a coffee bar and takeaway counter is clear, but the report lacks a cohesive summary of the overall spatial transformation. The mention of the 'desert section' (likely 'dessert') and the salad bar is accurate, but the overall structure could be more analytical by grouping features more logically rather than listing them sequentially.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organized into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the progression from the 'before' to the 'after' state. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat mechanical and occasionally inaccurate. For example, the transition 'While two staff dining room located middle of the building' is grammatically incomplete and lacks a clear link to the previous sentence. The use of referencing is sometimes confusing, such as 'for that costumer those who on diet', which disrupts the flow of information. More varied linking words would improve the logical flow between sentences.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing the reader to understand the changes made to the cafe. However, there are several spelling errors, such as 'desert' instead of 'dessert' and 'costumer' instead of 'customer'. The range of vocabulary is somewhat limited, relying on basic descriptors like 'new' or 'replaced'. To reach a higher band, you should incorporate more precise terminology related to spatial changes, such as 'relocated', 'transformed', 'expanded', or 'partitioned', and ensure accurate spelling of key terms.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. Common issues include missing articles ('in upper left corner'), incorrect verb forms ('before it was redesigning'), and subject-verb agreement errors ('kitchen and toilets have remained same as it is'). Additionally, some sentences are fragments or lack a main verb, such as 'Added a salad bar near the entrance'. While the meaning is generally recoverable, the frequency of these errors prevents the writing from reaching a higher band.
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