Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-08-10

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 plans illustrate a college cafe before it was remodeled and how it looks now.

Overall, the size of the cafe remained same with the addition of outdoor seating and barbecue. A new salad bar is introduced in the recent design and the recycling bin area is increased. Staff dining rooms are converted into take away food and coffee bar. The kitchen had a serving area which is now changed to hot meals.

The cafe space is utilized in an efficient manner by many changes in the design which includes outdoor seating area with the addition of 5 tables. Two new doors are introduced for accessing the outdoor seating alongside a new barbecue area.

Bin is redesigned to recycling bins with increased space and there were two rooms for staff dining area which are now transformed into take away food and coffee bar. Cafe today have hot meals as compared to cafe before redesign which had serving area.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

You have successfully identified the main features of the cafe redesign, such as the addition of outdoor seating, the barbecue area, and the conversion of staff rooms into a takeaway section. You provide a clear overview and support your points with specific details from the plans. However, the response could be improved by better grouping of information. For instance, the description of the kitchen and the bin area is somewhat fragmented across paragraphs. To reach a higher band, ensure that all related features are grouped logically to provide a more cohesive summary of the changes.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response is logically organized into an introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs. You use some cohesive devices, such as 'Overall' and 'as compared to', to link ideas. However, the progression between sentences can feel a bit mechanical. Some transitions are missing, and the paragraphing could be more effective; for example, the second body paragraph repeats information about the bin area that could have been integrated more smoothly. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring a smoother flow between sentences would enhance the overall coherence.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'remodeled', 'utilized', and 'transformed' appropriately. There are some minor issues with word choice and collocation, such as 'Bin is redesigned to recycling bins' (which is slightly awkward) and 'Cafe today have hot meals' (which lacks an article). While the vocabulary is sufficient to convey your meaning clearly, it lacks the precision and variety of less common lexical items that would be expected at a higher band level. Focusing on more sophisticated collocations will help improve your score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, which is appropriate for this task. However, there are several grammatical errors, particularly with articles ('the' is often missing, e.g., 'in the recent design') and subject-verb agreement ('Cafe today have'). Additionally, some phrasing is slightly unnatural, such as 'the size of the cafe remained same'. While these errors do not impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. Focusing on proofreading for articles and pluralization will significantly improve your accuracy.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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