Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-01

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)

A college cafe plan illustrates the renovation of the cafe with new additional shops.

Overall, the cafe has transformed into a more sophisticated space with an outdoor seating area and new shops. The old cafe design provided basic facilities for students and mainly to staff with their personal dining rooms.

The cafe previously offered a limited number of services. The large area of cafe was unused. One serving area provided all type of food and drinks. The students just have tables and chairs in the middle of the ground but staff has two spacious dining rooms near to service area. A small bin was placed near the toilets.

The newly renovated cafe today has variety of shops and stalls. The cafe introduced a barbecue stall outside the space with perfect huge outdoor seating arrangements. In the west, a new salad bar opened. Serving area replaced by hot meals, moreover, staff dining rooms transformed into a take away food and coffee bar separately.

In last, the bin area was modified into spacious recycling bins.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

You have successfully identified the main features of the cafe renovation, such as the addition of new shops and the reconfiguration of the seating areas. You provided a clear overview and compared the 'before' and 'after' states effectively. However, the response could be improved by being more precise with spatial descriptions. For example, stating 'In the west, a new salad bar opened' is good, but more specific references to the layout (e.g., 'the former staff dining area') would enhance the clarity. You covered all key changes, meeting the requirements for a Band 6.5 or 7.0, but further detail on the relative sizes or exact locations would push this into a higher band.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response is logically organized, with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a brief conclusion. You use some cohesive devices, such as 'Overall,' 'In the west,' and 'In last,' to guide the reader. However, 'In last' is not a standard cohesive phrase; 'Finally' or 'Lastly' would be more appropriate. Additionally, the transition between the description of the old cafe and the new one is clear, but the flow between sentences within paragraphs could be smoother. The paragraphing is appropriate, but the overall progression of ideas is slightly mechanical at times.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'renovation,' 'sophisticated,' 'transformed,' and 'arrangements.' There are some minor inaccuracies in word choice, such as 'The students just have tables' (should be 'had') and 'Serving area replaced by hot meals' (which is grammatically incomplete). While you attempt to use descriptive language, some phrasing is slightly unnatural. To reach a higher band, focus on more precise collocations related to describing maps and plans, such as 'converted into' or 'situated in the corner.'

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. However, there are several grammatical errors that occur throughout the text. For instance, 'The students just have tables' uses the wrong tense for a description of a past state. 'Serving area replaced by hot meals' lacks a verb or article, and 'In last' is an incorrect prepositional phrase. While these errors do not prevent the reader from understanding the main points, they are frequent enough to impact the overall accuracy. Increasing your control over verb tenses and article usage will significantly improve your score.

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

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