Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-08-09
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 shows the changes has been made on the college cafe before it was redesigned and now how it looks.
Overall, Kitchen, Toilets and Tables and chairs were remained constant. Furthermore, Barbecue, outdoor seating and sealed bar were added to the designed. In addition, Staff dinning rooms has been replaced by the take away food and coffee bar. Recycling bins spaces has been increased, Serving area has changed with hot meals.
Initially, Barbecue and Outdoor seating section added into the outdoor area, which make more comfortable areas for customers. Sealed bar is also included into the redesign. Staff dinning rooms has been changed with take away food and coffee bar. Kitchen and Toilets stayed at the same area as a redesign and Recycling bins just increased their size and stayed constant.
It just changed the name of serving area (all food & drinks) with Hot meals. As a redesigned, Tables and chairs also remained at the same design. Likewise, Cafe looks more comfortable and organised.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| 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 barbecue area, the coffee bar, and the changes to the serving area. However, the report lacks a clear overview of the most significant changes, and the description is somewhat repetitive. While the main features are identified, the comparison between the 'before' and 'after' states is occasionally muddled by inaccurate phrasing, such as stating that the kitchen 'remained constant' when the layout clearly shows structural changes. To improve, ensure that the overview highlights the most striking transformations rather than just listing features, and be more precise when describing spatial changes.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response is organized into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the flow of ideas is often mechanical. The use of cohesive devices like 'Furthermore', 'In addition', and 'Likewise' is somewhat repetitive and occasionally used incorrectly to link unrelated points. The progression of information is not always logical; for instance, the second paragraph lists features, but the third paragraph repeats much of the same information, leading to redundancy. Improving the logical flow by grouping related features together rather than repeating them would significantly enhance the coherence of the report.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks precision and variety. There are several instances of awkward phrasing, such as 'Staff dinning rooms has been changed with take away food' and 'sealed bar was added to the designed'. The word 'designed' is used incorrectly as a noun, and 'dinning' is a spelling error for 'dining'. While the student successfully identifies key areas like 'recycling bins' and 'outdoor seating', the range is limited, and the repetition of basic verbs like 'changed' and 'stayed' prevents the response from reaching a higher band score.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The response contains frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. There are consistent issues with subject-verb agreement, such as 'changes has been made', 'Staff dinning rooms has been replaced', and 'Recycling bins spaces has been increased'. Additionally, there are errors in tense usage and prepositional phrases, such as 'included into the redesign' instead of 'included in the redesign'. While the student attempts some complex sentence structures, these are often marred by errors. A focus on basic grammatical accuracy, particularly subject-verb agreement and correct preposition usage, is essential for improvement.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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