Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-08-23
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)
Both diagrams demonstrate the college cafe design before and after construction. College cafe is one of the best place for students to sit there and take their meal as a source of refreshment.
Overall both pictures illustrate seating area occupied more space than the kitchen. But the cafe before redesign facilitate with the separate staff dining rooms and serving areas. Both cafe offer toilet and bin facility.
On the contrast today cafe shows modern look with outdoor sitting area. It enhances the student capacity to take meal in cafeteria according to their suitable sitting. Moreover it serves variety of meals and drinks such as coffee bar and hot meals with salad bar. However learners are also accommodated with outdoor seating area and fascinate with barbecue.
The college cafe before it was redesign did not offer different types of meals and drinks. Today cafe gives better facilities. But the same thing both cafe provides are kitchen , toilet and recycle bin.
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 covers the main features of the cafe redesign, such as the seating areas, kitchen, and new facilities. However, the analysis is somewhat superficial. For example, the mention of 'barbecue' and 'salad bar' is not clearly supported by the visual data provided in the prompt, which suggests a reliance on external assumptions rather than purely reporting the provided information. While the main changes are identified, the comparison between the two plans could be more precise, particularly regarding the specific layout changes. The response would benefit from a more structured approach to highlighting the most significant transformations, such as the removal of the staff dining room and the expansion of the seating capacity.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organized into paragraphs, but the flow between ideas is often mechanical. Transitions like 'On the contrast' and 'Moreover' are used, but the logical progression is sometimes hindered by awkward phrasing and repetitive sentence structures. The referencing is occasionally unclear, such as in the phrase 'the same thing both cafe provides', which makes it difficult for the reader to follow the comparison. Paragraphing is present, but the internal structure of the paragraphs lacks the cohesion required for a higher band, as the sentences do not always link smoothly to one another.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision and variety expected at higher levels. There are several instances of awkward word choices, such as 'facilitate with' instead of 'featured' or 'equipped with', and 'fascinate with' which is used incorrectly in this context. The student relies on basic descriptors like 'modern look' and 'better facilities'. While the meaning is generally clear, the lack of sophisticated vocabulary and the presence of collocation errors limit the score in this criterion.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The response contains a mix of simple and some attempted complex sentences, but there are frequent grammatical errors. Issues include missing articles ('College cafe is one of the best place'), incorrect verb forms ('before it was redesign'), and subject-verb agreement errors ('both cafe provides'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, with some missing commas and incorrect spacing. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to distract the reader and indicate a lack of control over more complex grammatical structures.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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