Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-04
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 given floor plan illustrates the layout about, college cafe landscape showing old infrastructure been designed and after change in the
design how it is looking today. At a glance, in the new design barbecue section and outdoor seating facilities have introduced in new design.
To begin with, the early landscape design of the cafe was
containing some basic partition of rooms such as staff dining rooms, huge dine in area, toilets, bin, kitchen and serving area, attached to the kitchen, where all food and drinks were getting served. Moreover, it has a single-entry gate for the customers and staff both. However, in new cafe floor plan design, serving area has converted into hot meal serving. and extended features such as a take away food, coffee bar, barbecue and salad bar. Additionally, there are four entry options available in new landscape design of cafe. while there is no change in dine in area, it remains the same as before.
To sum up, new design of college cafe contains more features compared to early design and it became easier to access and now it has outdoor dine in option as well.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response covers the main features of the cafe redesign, such as the addition of the barbecue and salad bar and the changes to entry points. However, the overview is somewhat limited. While you mention the barbecue and outdoor seating, you could have provided a more comprehensive summary of the overall transformation, such as the shift from a single-purpose dining area to a more diversified, multi-functional space. The description of the 'dine-in' area remaining the same is accurate, but the report lacks a clear, cohesive summary of the spatial flow changes. To improve, ensure the overview highlights the most significant trends rather than just listing individual features.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response is organised into logical paragraphs, and there is a clear progression from the introduction to the body and conclusion. You use some cohesive devices like 'To begin with', 'Moreover', and 'Additionally' to link ideas. However, the flow is occasionally hindered by mechanical phrasing and some awkward transitions, such as 'To sum up, new design of college cafe'. The use of referencing is sometimes unclear, and the punctuation, particularly the placement of full stops within sentences (e.g., 'serving. and extended features'), disrupts the flow of information. Improving the variety and accuracy of your linking words will help achieve a higher band.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'infrastructure', 'partition', and 'diversified'. However, there are several instances of imprecise word choice and awkward collocations, such as 'layout about, college cafe landscape' and 'early landscape design'. Some phrasing is repetitive, and the word choice lacks the precision expected at higher levels. To improve, focus on using more natural collocations related to architectural descriptions, such as 'floor plan', 'renovated', or 'reconfigured', rather than relying on general terms like 'change in the design'.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede readability. Issues include missing articles ('in new cafe floor plan'), incorrect verb forms ('been designed'), and punctuation errors, such as the unnecessary full stop in 'serving. and extended features'. While the meaning is generally clear, the frequency of these errors prevents the writing from reaching a higher band. You should focus on subject-verb agreement, the correct use of articles, and ensuring that punctuation does not break the logical structure of your sentences.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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