Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-08-20

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 diagram given below illustrate a college cafe before it went through reconstruction and how it has converted now.

Overall, there has been major changes in the cafe after redesigning, with extra chair outside the cafe and some adjustments inside the cafe.

The Cafe before redesigning was a simply restaurant with a kitchen at the top providing a serving area with all kinds of food and drinks. On the middle part of the cafe there were two room for staff to eat and a toilet at the bottom right corner. Rest of the empty space were filled with tables and chairs.

However, after the reconstruction the cafe changed a lot. The kitchen are is the same but the serving area was removed and hot meals option was added. At the center, two dining rooms for satff was replaced by takeaway food and a coffee bar. While the toilet was the same there is a recycle bin added infront of it in place of the old bin area. Tables and chairs were the same but a salad bar was added new in the cafe. At last, the restaurant expanded its area and added seats and barbecue area outside the cafe.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The student has addressed the task requirements by summarizing and comparing the college cafe before and after its redesign. However, the overview statement lacks clarity and could better encapsulate the notable changes presented in the diagrams. Mentioning the significant transformation to outdoor seating and the addition of specific features like the salad bar and barbecue area offers a good comparison, but it misses describing the overall layout changes in more detail. The response achieves basic task fulfillment but could enhance clarity and detail to fully meet the 'fully addresses all parts of the task' descriptor.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The structure of the response is generally logical, progressing from the description of the previous layout to the revised layout. However, there are areas where coherence suffers, such as the vague linkage between points. Phrases like "however" and "at last" are used, but transitions can be clearer, making connections between ideas more explicit. The response could benefit from more effective theme development and clearer paragraphing to ensure a smoother reading experience. Overall, some improvement in cohesion between sections is necessary.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary used in the response is adequate for the task but lacks sophistication, leading to a slightly repetitive tone. For instance, terms like "simply restaurant" and "the same" could be varied to enhance lexical variety. Additionally, phrases such as "major changes" or "added new" could be swapped for more precise alternatives. The range of vocabulary does cover essential concepts but needs more varied expressions to achieve higher lexical resource scoring. Greater precision in word choice would improve the overall impression of the writing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The grammatical range is somewhat limited, with frequent errors that affect clarity. For example, "the kitchen are is the same" should be corrected to "the kitchen area is the same." There are also issues with pluralization and article usage (e.g., "two room for staff" should be "two rooms for staff"). Some sentences contain run-on structures that could be improved with punctuation. Despite these issues, the writer demonstrates some ability to manage complex structures but would benefit from refinement in accuracy and complexity.

Overall feedback

The writing presents a clear understanding of the task, summarizing the key changes in the cafe effectively. Strengths include a logical comparison of features and an overall structure that aids comprehension. However, improvements could be made in clarity, particularly in the overall statement that summarizes the main changes. Additionally, work on grammatical accuracy and vocabulary variation would enhance the writing. Focusing on more precise language and refining sentence structure can significantly improve your score. Consider practicing with more complex sentence forms and enriching your vocabulary for future responses.

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

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