Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-08-15
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 redesigned and today how it looks.
Overall, it is clear that the cafe undergo significant changes after development. There are several facilities used to improve its overall functionality.
As it can be seen that a cafe before redesign, a kitchen area was located in north west. Serving area for all food and drink were situated in front of kitchen area.Then, in the middle of the cafe, there were two staff dining rooms attached also table and chairs. In addition,there had a recycle bin located in the east side and toilets were in north east side.
Today cafe has many changes, the kitchen area has still exact place.However, serving area replaced by hot meals. Additionally, staff dinning rooms also redesigned with separate between take away food and coffee bar while the recycling bins and toilets remain still same place. Meanwhile, salad bar area is newly constructed in the wast side . Moreover, In the south side, barbecue and outdoor seating area are built for public facility.
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
You have successfully identified the main features of the cafe redesign, including the kitchen, serving areas, and new additions like the barbecue and salad bar. You provided a clear overview and made relevant comparisons between the two plans. However, the response is slightly hindered by inaccuracies in describing locations (e.g., 'north west' vs 'west') and some awkward phrasing regarding the layout changes. To reach a higher band, ensure that your descriptions of spatial changes are precise and that you clearly distinguish between what remained the same and what was newly added or relocated.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the progression from the 'before' state to the 'after' state. You use some cohesive devices like 'In addition', 'However', and 'Meanwhile' to link ideas. However, the flow is occasionally disrupted by mechanical errors and awkward transitions, such as 'As it can be seen that a cafe before redesign'. The referencing is sometimes unclear, and the use of cohesive devices feels a bit repetitive or forced in certain places. Improving the variety and naturalness of your linking words would enhance the overall coherence.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
You have a sufficient range of vocabulary to describe the changes, such as 'functionality', 'redesigned', and 'constructed'. However, there are several instances of imprecise word choice and collocation errors, such as 'the kitchen area has still exact place' instead of 'remains in the same location', and 'wast side' (spelling error). You also struggle with word forms, such as 'staff dinning rooms' (dining) and 'separate between take away food'. To improve, focus on learning common collocations used in Task 1 reports and proofread for basic spelling and word-form accuracy.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
You attempt a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but the accuracy is inconsistent. There are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with articles ('a cafe before redesign'), prepositions ('in the east side'), and verb tenses/structures ('there had a recycle bin'). Some sentences are fragmented or lack necessary verbs, which occasionally forces the reader to re-read to understand the intended meaning. While the errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to limit your score. Focus on mastering basic subject-verb agreement and the correct use of articles.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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