Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-11
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 information about a college cafe after reconstruction.
Overall, now canteen is divided into four different sections for food and drinks and each used to serve different item as compare to first where it only have one station for all kind of items. The bin is change to recycling bins and a addition of outdoor seatings are now available in new cafe.
Cafe before being redesign have kitchen area on the backside, while the serving area for all kind of food and drinks was in the front of kitchen. The tables and chairs for students was in the center of cafe whereas the staff have two rooms allocated for dining, near serving area. Toilets were located in the south right corner of cafe.
Cafe after redesign use same areas for kitchen, toilets, and table and chairs . Whereas, significant change is noticed in serving area where only hot meals are now served else for salad and barbecue different stations are used in the west and south corners of canteen. Staff dining room replaced with take away and coffee bars. The addition of outdoor seating is include in front of barbecue station after redesign. Bin is upgraded to recylcing bins.
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 new serving stations and the addition of outdoor seating. However, the overview is slightly confusing; stating the canteen is 'divided into four different sections' is not clearly supported by the visual evidence, and the comparison to the previous layout is somewhat vague. While the key changes are identified, the description of the layout could be more precise. For instance, the location of the new stations is mentioned, but the overall spatial relationship between the old and new features could be more clearly highlighted to better meet the requirements of a Band 6 or 7.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organised into logical paragraphs, with an introduction, an overview, and two body paragraphs describing the 'before' and 'after' states. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat mechanical and occasionally inaccurate, such as 'else for salad' and 'as compare to first'. Referencing is sometimes unclear, particularly when referring to the 'first' (presumably the first plan). While there is an overall progression, the flow between sentences is occasionally hindered by awkward phrasing, which limits the score to a 6.0.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing the student to describe the changes in the cafe. However, there are several instances of inaccurate word choice and spelling errors, such as 'recylcing', 'is include', and 'is change'. The range is somewhat limited, relying on basic descriptors. To achieve a higher band, the student should aim for more precise terminology related to spatial descriptions and avoid repetitive phrasing. The errors do not impede communication, but they are noticeable throughout the text.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors. Issues include subject-verb agreement ('The tables and chairs... was', 'Bin is upgraded'), missing articles ('in front of barbecue station'), and incorrect verb forms ('Cafe before being redesign have'). While the meaning remains clear, the frequency of these errors prevents the response from reaching a higher band. The student needs to focus on basic sentence construction and proofreading for subject-verb consistency and article usage.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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