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 maps illustrate the plan of a Cafe before its design and the of today.

Considering from an overall perspective, it can be comprehensively observed that the plan undergoes significant changes by renovating some areas and inclusion of some areas as well such as hot meals, recycle bins, barbecue, salad bar, outdoor seating, take away food and coffee bar.

To begin with, Before redesign, the serving area for all food and drink was located in the north side has been changed to hot meals area today. Moreover, nearer to hot meal area, Salad bar has been introduced today in the middle west corner. At the place, where staff dining room are there has now redeveloped to take away food area and coffee bar area.

However, the Bin in the middle east corner is now redeveloped to recycling bins. In addition, At outdoor side of cafe, there is introduction of two new areas such as barbecue and outdoor sitting area where customer can enjoy their meals.

Furthermore, Areas like kitchen, tables and chairs in the middle of cafe and toilets were remained unchanged.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response covers the main features of the cafe redesign, including the new additions and the areas that remained unchanged. However, the overview is slightly cluttered with a list of features rather than a clear summary of the most significant spatial changes. While the task is addressed, the description of the locations is occasionally imprecise, such as referring to the 'middle west corner' or 'middle east corner', which makes the spatial relationship difficult to follow. To reach a higher band, focus on grouping features more logically and providing a more concise, high-level summary of the transformation.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response is organized into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is sometimes mechanical or slightly awkward, such as 'Considering from an overall perspective' and 'At the place, where staff dining room are there'. The progression of ideas is generally logical, but the referencing is occasionally unclear, particularly when describing the location of the new facilities. Improving the variety and naturalness of linking words would enhance the flow of the report.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing the student to describe the changes effectively. There are some attempts at more specific vocabulary, such as 'renovating' and 'redeveloped'. However, there are instances of awkward phrasing and word choice errors, such as 'the of today' in the introduction and 'outdoor sitting area' instead of 'seating area'. Spelling is generally accurate, but the range of vocabulary is somewhat limited, relying on basic descriptors rather than more precise academic terminology.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors that occur throughout the text, such as 'the plan undergoes' (tense inconsistency), 'where staff dining room are there' (syntax error), and 'toilets were remained unchanged' (passive voice error). While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent a higher score. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and correct passive voice construction would significantly improve the accuracy of the writing.

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

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