Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-12

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 give map chart illustrate the information regarding the college cafe how redesingned in present.

to start with, in past , the entry of the cafe was in norh east side .further, just after the entry a big tables and chairs area also had a bin in the left side of entry . while,the toilets in the south east side of the cafe. after that,the kitchen locate in the north side of the cafe aslo has a servig area near the kitchen . A part from this , two staff dining room are almost had in the center of the cafe .

Moving toward, in present , the entry of the cafe as it is as before in the north east side also in the area of table and chairs,bin and toilets area seen no changes. however , the staff dinng rooms are converted into the take away food and coffe bar. futher is in north side as before but the serving area redesigned into hot meals. moreover, in the ares of tables and chairs built a new salad bar. addtionaly, in south side add a barbecue areaa with some outdoor seating.

overall,it is vivid that the map show numerous changes in cafe area with addtion of salad bar and barbecue and redesinged of dining rooms.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response addresses the main features of the two maps, successfully identifying key changes such as the conversion of the staff dining rooms into a takeaway and coffee bar, the addition of a salad bar, and the introduction of an outdoor barbecue area. The overview at the end captures the essence of the transformations well. However, the development of some details is slightly limited, and there are occasional inaccuracies in reporting spatial relationships, such as the exact positioning of the kitchen and serving counters. Despite these minor limitations, the overall task requirements for an Academic Task 1 summary are met effectively, leading to a solid band score for this criterion.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The text is divided into logical paragraphs representing the introduction, the past layout, the present layout, and an overview. Cohesive devices are used to guide the reader through the comparison, such as 'to start with', 'while', 'moving toward', and 'overall'. However, referencing and cohesion are occasionally mechanical or faulty, as seen in awkward transitions like 'futher is in north side' and repetitive sentence openings. Paragraphing is present and helps structure the response, but paragraph internal cohesion suffers from abrupt shifts and inadequate punctuation control.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The student attempts a range of vocabulary suitable for describing a floor plan, including terms like 'redesigned', 'take away food and coffe bar', 'salad bar', and 'barbecue area'. However, there is a persistent lack of control over spelling ('norh', 'redesngned', 'dinng', 'futher', 'ares', 'addtionaly', 'addtion') and word formation. Less common lexical items are attempted but frequently misused or misspelled, which impacts precision. While the vocabulary is adequate to convey the basic message, the frequent errors in basic and subject-specific terms prevent the response from achieving a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 4.5

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but grammatical control is weak throughout the response. There are frequent basic errors in verb tenses, subject-verb agreement, and prepositions, such as 'the give map chart illustrate', 'the kitchen locate', 'staff dining room are almost had', and 'in south side add a barbecue areaa'. Punctuation and capitalization are also poorly controlled, with many sentences lacking proper capitalization or run together incorrectly. Complex structures are often faulty, and errors frequently cause strain for the reader.

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