Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-13
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 provided map illustrates a college cafe's current outlook and how it looked before redesigning.
There is an added area while there are several modifications made to the kitchen and seating area.
Before redesigning the cafe, located at the top is the kitchen adjacent to the serving area for all food and drinks. In indoor sitting area there were two staff dining rooms. On the left of the staff dining rooms was an empty space used for tables and chairs. On the right of the staff dining rooms was a tiny bin.
Currently, the kitchen is present there, adjacent to the hot meals serving areas. The staff dining rooms are now replaced with take away food corner and coffee bar. On the left side of take away food area is a salad bar located in front of the room containing kitchen and hot meals service area. The indoor seating remains unchanged. On the right of coffee bar, the recycling bin is expanded located infront of toilets. Two new doors are added at the bottom of the layout leading to outdoor seating area and barbecue area.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The student provides an overview of the main changes in the college cafe comparing the 'before' and 'after' layouts. Key features such as the kitchen, seating areas, and newly added facilities like the salad bar, coffee bar, and outdoor spaces are reported. However, the response lacks a clear, comprehensive overview paragraph summarising the most striking overall transformations (such as the expansion of functional zones). Additionally, some descriptions of locations are slightly vague or imprecise, such as 'located at the top' and 'at the bottom of the layout'. While all parts of the visual information are touched upon, the lack of full development and a cohesive overview keeps this response at Band 6.0.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The text is arranged into logical paragraphs separating the introduction, an overview sentence, the past layout, and the current layout. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Before redesigning', 'Currently', and 'On the left side', which help guide the reader through the spatial changes. However, referencing and progression are occasionally mechanical or slightly repetitive in sentence structures (e.g., beginning multiple sentences with 'On the left' or 'On the right'). Paragraphing is appropriately utilised to separate temporal stages, but the overall progression lacks seamless fluidity. This performance aligns well with the Band 6 descriptor.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary range to describe physical locations and map features, using terms such as 'adjacent', 'modifications', 'recycling bin', and 'outdoor seating area'. However, there are instances of unnatural phrasing and word choice errors, such as 'current outlook' instead of 'current layout', 'Before redesigning the cafe, located at the top is...' which has faulty syntax, and 'take away food corner' instead of 'take-away counter'. Less common lexical items are attempted but lack precision and natural collocation. These limitations are characteristic of a Band 6 performance.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as 'There is an added area while there are several modifications made...' and relative clauses like 'empty space used for tables and chairs'. There are several grammatical errors and awkward structures throughout the text, including misplaced modifiers ('Before redesigning the cafe, located at the top is the kitchen'), missing articles ('In indoor sitting area'), and prepositional issues ('infront of toilets'). Despite these errors, meaning is generally clear and communication is not severely impeded. This balanced mix of accurate simple structures and flawed complex forms places the grammar firmly at Band 5.5.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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