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)
These two diagrams illiustate two version of a college cafe which restructured and the previous one.
Overall, although some features remained the same, the cafe has been reconfigured to improve functionality and customer flow, with a shift from staff focused spaces to more diverse customer service and expend outdoor seating.
In the original layout, food and drinks used to be served from one place which was a concern during rush hours, also since staff dining rooms were in the middle of a room which couldn't left much space for seating arrangement. Lastly, the oppoisition of bin which was placed opposite of the toilets.
After redesign, the service side gets individual spot for variety of food and drinks. It also shows a separate food take away corner which helps people saving time. The space of this cafe finally gets utilized properly which gave customers a lot of space to sit inside and outside. A labelled recycle bin also is added in opposite of toilets greatly reflecting updated environmental practices. A outside barbecue corner also was a thougthtful addition.
Notably, current structure of the cafe represents more connectivity and thoughtfulness as open and accessible for students.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0
The candidate successfully addresses the prompt by summarising the main features of the college cafe before and after its redesign, making relevant comparisons throughout. The overview paragraph captures the key transformation effectively, noting the shift from staff-focused spaces to enhanced customer service areas and expanded outdoor seating. Specific details, such as the introduction of individual service spots, a separate takeaway corner, and a barbecue area, are accurately reported. However, some descriptions are slightly under-developed or colloquial, such as 'the service side gets individual spot' and 'The space of this cafe finally gets utilized properly.' Despite minor phrasing issues, all parts of the task are covered well, warranting a solid band score for this criterion.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response is organized into a logical structure with an introduction, an overview, body paragraphs addressing different aspects of the layout, and a concluding summary. Cohesive devices are employed to link ideas, such as 'Overall, although...', 'In the original layout...', and 'After redesign...'. However, paragraphing and referencing are occasionally awkward. For instance, the third paragraph abruptly ends with a sentence fragment ('Lastly, the oppoisition of bin which was placed opposite of the toilets.'), and transitions between sentences can feel slightly mechanical. While the overall progression is clear, these cohesive lapses prevent the response from reaching a higher band.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, demonstrating an attempt to incorporate less common items and topic-specific terminology such as 'reconfigured', 'functionality', 'customer flow', and 'recycle bin'. However, there are notable word choice and collocation inaccuracies throughout the text, including 'illiustate two version', 'expend outdoor seating', 'individual spot', and 'a thougthtful addition'. Spelling errors like 'illiustate', 'oppoisition', and 'thougthtful' also occur. Although these lexical limitations and errors do not impede overall communication, they restrict the vocabulary score to a band 6.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The candidate attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, demonstrated by sentences like 'Overall, although some features remained the same, the cafe has been reconfigured...' and 'It also shows a separate food take away corner which helps people saving time.' However, grammatical control is inconsistent, with frequent errors in verb forms, prepositions, and sentence completeness. Examples include 'which restructured' (missing passive voice), 'which couldn't left much space', 'helps people saving time', and 'is added in opposite of toilets'. Punctuation and structural fragmentation in phrases like 'Lastly, the oppoisition of bin...' further detract from grammatical accuracy. These errors occasionally cause difficulty for the reader.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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