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 map illustrates that the redesigned cafe is more modern than in the past one. Past cafe was simple and many things were not introduced at that time. There was a small kitchen in the North side. In the right, side of South there was a toilet for both male and female. College made two different dinning areas. One was only for teachers and their staff only and other one is for students. The student dinning area was bigger than the staff. One small dustbin was also placed in the right corner. Now, college renovate it's cafe and make many changes. First change was they introduce Salad bar. They change staff area into Take away food and coffee bar. They also do a good effort to introduce recycling bins that are environmentally friendly instead of simple bins. Cafe is also introduce Barbecue. Because many students request to open a barbecue in the cafe. They also introduce an outside seating plan as number of students are gradually increase in every year.
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 addresses the task by describing the changes between the two plans. However, the overview is weak; it describes the cafe as 'more modern' rather than summarizing the significant structural layout changes. The report is somewhat descriptive rather than analytical, and it includes extraneous information (e.g., 'Because many students request to open a barbecue') which is not present in the visual data. To improve, focus strictly on the visual information provided and ensure a clear, concise summary of the main trends or changes is presented in the introduction or as a separate overview paragraph.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response is organized into two paragraphs, but the progression of ideas is somewhat disjointed. The transition between describing the 'past' and 'now' is abrupt. While some cohesive devices are used (e.g., 'First change', 'They also'), they are often repetitive or used mechanically. The referencing is occasionally unclear, such as 'In the right, side of South', which makes the spatial description difficult to follow. Improving the use of cohesive devices and ensuring a logical flow between sentences would significantly enhance the clarity of the report.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision required for a higher band. There is a reliance on simple, repetitive phrasing (e.g., 'introduce', 'change', 'make'). Some word choices are inaccurate or non-standard, such as 'dinning' (dining) and 'renovate it's cafe' (renovates its cafe). There is little attempt to use less common lexical items or precise terminology related to architectural changes or spatial descriptions. Expanding your vocabulary to include more descriptive verbs and nouns related to layout and transformation would be beneficial.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede readability. Issues include subject-verb agreement ('Cafe is also introduce'), tense inconsistencies ('college renovate it's cafe'), and incorrect article usage ('in the North side'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with commas. While the meaning is generally clear, the high frequency of errors in basic grammar prevents the response from reaching a higher band. Focusing on proofreading for subject-verb agreement and consistent tense usage is essential.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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