Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-08-19
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 below plan illustrates a resigned collage cafe before it was planned and presently how it looks like in today's period.
Overall, it is inferred that before resigned the cafe, it has some facilities of general needs and rest area. While, in today's plan, it included more facilities and developed the cafe style.
At first glance, before redesign cafe structure, it has kitchen which is in the north side of cafe. After that, nearby kitchen it is located services area for all meals and variety of drinks. Moreover, there are two staff dinning rooms for staff. While, In the southern west corner, restroom was built for public use. In front of toilet, there is a dustin bin for garbage. In addition, In front side of staff dinning room, tables and chairs located all over the cafe.
Moving towards further details, cafe in today's period, kitchen and toilets remains the same which was resigned before. Additionally, coffee bar and salad bar are developed in today's cafe plan. While, it also include outdoor seating and barbecue. Then, serving area are removed with hot meals. Next details, bin are developed to recycling bin. Lastly, staff dinning room are replaced with take away food area.
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 cafe redesign, identifying key changes such as the addition of a coffee bar and the removal of the serving area. However, the description is somewhat mechanical and lacks a clear, analytical overview. While the main features are identified, the comparison between the two plans is not fully developed, and some details are slightly inaccurate (e.g., stating the kitchen remains the same when the layout clearly shows modifications). The response would benefit from a more cohesive synthesis of the changes rather than a list-like approach to the features.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organised into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is often repetitive or misused, such as the frequent use of 'While' and 'Next details'. The progression of ideas is sometimes disjointed, particularly in the transition between the 'before' and 'after' descriptions. Referencing is occasionally unclear, making it difficult to track which specific area of the cafe is being discussed. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring clearer logical flow between sentences would significantly enhance the coherence of the response.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The range of vocabulary is limited and somewhat repetitive. There are several instances of awkward word choices and spelling errors, such as 'resigned' instead of 'redesigned', 'collage' instead of 'college', and 'dustin bin' instead of 'dustbin'. The vocabulary used is basic and lacks the precision required for describing spatial changes in a formal report. To improve, you should focus on using more accurate terminology for describing layouts, such as 'relocated', 'transformed', 'expanded', or 'partitioned', and ensure correct spelling of key terms.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The response relies heavily on simple sentence structures, and there are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text. Issues include incorrect verb tenses (e.g., 'it has some facilities' instead of 'it had'), missing articles, and subject-verb agreement errors (e.g., 'tables and chairs located' instead of 'tables and chairs were located'). While the meaning is generally understandable, the high frequency of errors in basic grammar and punctuation hinders the flow and reduces the overall quality of the writing. A greater focus on sentence construction and proofreading for basic errors is necessary.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.