Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-03

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 maps displays college cafe before it was redecorate and current appearance. College cafe before revamp was very simple, most of area was occupied by tables and chair. However, current design shows it has been totally changed.

Before Revamp there were two staff dinning rooms, a small bin place and next to that there was toilets place. There was a kitchen as well, where all the food was come from. Though there were no outdoor seating for customers.

After Renovation cafe has one room for Take away food and a special from coffee bar. In new design there is big place for recycling but toilets has same location and amount of place. There is salad bar available in the new design. Kitchen is on same location as it was before but it has Hot meals area instead of serving area before. Outdoor seating is also available for customers, they can sit and enjoy their food. There is barbecue setup is also available for customers after upgradation of cafe.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

You have successfully identified the main features of the cafe redesign, such as the addition of the outdoor seating, the coffee bar, and the recycling area. You also correctly noted the areas that remained unchanged, like the toilets and the kitchen's location. However, the response lacks a clear overview paragraph, which is essential for a Band 6 or higher. An overview should summarise the most significant changes, such as the expansion of services and the introduction of outdoor facilities. Additionally, some descriptions are slightly imprecise, such as referring to the 'bin place' rather than using more formal terminology like 'waste disposal area'.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response is organised into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the progression from the 'before' to the 'after' state. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat mechanical and limited. Phrases like 'However' and 'Though' are used, but there is a lack of more sophisticated linking words to connect ideas within sentences. The referencing is occasionally unclear, such as in the sentence 'There is barbecue setup is also available', where the grammar disrupts the flow. Improving the variety of transition signals would help the ideas connect more naturally.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

Your vocabulary is generally adequate to convey the main points, but it lacks the precision and range required for higher bands. You rely on basic descriptors like 'big place' or 'special from coffee bar'. Using more specific academic vocabulary would improve your score significantly. For example, instead of 'bin place', you could use 'recycling facilities', and instead of 'redecorate', you could use 'renovated' or 'refurbished'. There are also some minor word-choice errors, such as 'staff dinning rooms' (dining) and 'amount of place' (space).

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

There are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text that occasionally impede clarity. Common issues include missing articles ('the maps displays', 'in new design'), incorrect verb forms ('where all the food was come from'), and awkward sentence structures ('There is barbecue setup is also available'). While you attempt to use a mix of simple and some complex structures, the high frequency of errors in basic subject-verb agreement and article usage prevents a higher score. Focusing on proofreading for these fundamental errors will help improve your accuracy.

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.