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 diagrams demonstrate a college cafe before and after the renovation.

Overall, there was a single kitchen and serving area which were replaced with seprarate compartments and staff dining area also replaced with addition of an outdoor seating area.

The kitchen and serving area, which handled all the food and drinking traffic earlier were replaced with separate compartments such as hot meals right in front of kitchen, salad bar in the western corner of main hall, specifically staff dining rooms have been renovated into take away food and coffee bar. Both toilets and recycling bins which were located in the far southern and eastern corners have been refurbished into a more spacious and well organized way.

There have been a barbecue section introduced in the outdoor with seating. Five tables have been installed infront of the barbecue section for people who like to sit outdoor for chat. Before, there was single area that delivers all the servings but after renovations separate sections have been installed to help better handling of traffic and avoiding large queues.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response covers the main features of the cafe renovation well. You successfully identified the key changes, such as the transition from a single serving area to specialized compartments and the addition of the outdoor seating. However, the description of the layout changes is occasionally imprecise; for instance, stating the staff dining room was 'renovated into take away food' is a bit vague. To reach a higher band, ensure you clearly contrast the 'before' and 'after' states for every feature mentioned, and ensure the spatial descriptions (e.g., 'western corner') are consistently accurate based on the visual data provided.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized logically, moving from an overview to specific details. Paragraphing is present, though the transition between the second and third paragraphs could be smoother. You use some cohesive devices like 'Before' and 'after renovations', but the flow is occasionally mechanical. The referencing is generally clear, but some sentences, such as 'Both toilets and recycling bins which were located in the far southern and eastern corners have been refurbished into a more spacious and well organized way', are slightly clunky and could benefit from better signposting to improve the overall progression of ideas.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'renovation', 'compartments', 'refurbished', and 'installed'. There are some minor errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'handled all the food and drinking traffic' (should be 'food and drink') and 'infront of' (should be 'in front of'). While you attempt to use more specific vocabulary, some phrasing remains slightly repetitive. To improve, focus on using more precise collocations related to architectural changes and spatial layout to enhance the sophistication of your writing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are several grammatical slips, such as 'staff dining area also replaced with addition of an outdoor seating area' (missing articles) and 'There have been a barbecue section introduced' (subject-verb agreement error). Punctuation is generally functional, but there are instances where commas would improve readability. To achieve a higher band, focus on ensuring subject-verb agreement and the correct use of articles, as these minor errors occur frequently enough to prevent the grammar from being considered fully controlled.

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

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