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 diagram illustrates a college cafe, how it looked previously and how it looked later few years.

Overall, the cafe had completely modified to an unpredictable level. The staff dining rooms now changed to food take away and coffee bar. The outside seating also added in the present cafe modifications.

the kitchen, seating arrangements in the hall, the toilets and the recycling bin did not change their positions and not left their jobs. The serving area(all foods and drinks) got changed into a hot meals place for the students to enjoy and to eat.

the excessive outdoor seating facility had created a less rush in the dining area inside the cafe. There is a new Barbeque stall for the students to eat. Due to current food habits of the children, the cafe got a new Salad bar so that the children or the students can easily maintain their daily food diet.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response covers the main features of the cafe redesign, such as the addition of outdoor seating and the conversion of the staff room. However, the report lacks a clear, analytical overview of the most significant changes. Some descriptions are imprecise, such as describing the cafe as having 'completely modified to an unpredictable level,' which is not an objective observation. While the main features are identified, the comparison between the 'before' and 'after' states could be more structured. The inclusion of subjective commentary regarding 'food habits of the children' is unnecessary and detracts from the objective tone required for Academic Task 1.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the use of cohesive devices is limited and sometimes mechanical. For instance, the transition between the description of the kitchen and the outdoor seating is abrupt. There is a lack of varied linking words to connect the ideas logically. Additionally, the referencing is occasionally unclear, such as in the phrase 'did not change their positions and not left their jobs,' which is awkward and confusing. Improved use of transition signals would enhance the flow of the report.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision and range expected for a higher band. There are several instances of unnatural word choices, such as 'not left their jobs' when referring to inanimate objects like a recycling bin, and 'less rush' instead of 'reduced congestion.' The phrase 'unpredictable level' is also misused in this context. While the student attempts to describe specific areas like the 'hot meals place' and 'Barbeque stall,' the overall lexical control is limited, and some phrasing is repetitive or slightly inaccurate.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response contains a mix of simple and some complex structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. Examples include 'the cafe had completely modified' (should be passive: 'the cafe had been completely modified') and 'how it looked later few years' (should be 'a few years later'). Punctuation is inconsistent, with missing capital letters at the start of sentences and awkward phrasing throughout. While the meaning is generally understandable, the frequency of errors in basic sentence construction and verb tense usage prevents the writing from reaching a higher band.

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

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