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 maps depicts the college cafe in past and map after refinements in present.

overall, cafe developed more accurately at present with new features in sittings and bar.

In detail, before developments there was kitchen in north-west corner. In kitchen, there was a serving area also which offers all types of food and drinks. Nearby kitchen, in the north side there was two separate dining area for staff. Tables and chairs were in the middle part of the cafe. In the south-east corner, there was a toilet. There was an exit and entry area in the east side. In the east side, there was a bin.

While, today the serving area from kitchen is replaced with the hot meals. The staff dining rooms are converted as take away food room and coffee bar. There is a new salad bar is developed in the west side. There is new outdoor sitting is introduced in the south side. Barbeque is developed nearby outdoor sitting at the south-west corner. The bin is now upgraded with recycle bin.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response successfully covers all parts of the task by identifying and reporting the main features of the college cafe before and after its redesign. You present clear comparisons, such as noting how the serving area has been replaced with hot meals, and how the staff dining rooms have been converted into a takeaway food room and a coffee bar. You also accurately capture new additions like the salad bar, outdoor seating, and the barbecue. While the overview could be slightly more fully developed to encapsulate all primary changes cohesively, you successfully fulfill the core requirements of Academic Task 1 by selecting relevant data and structuring a coherent comparison.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

Your response demonstrates a logical overall arrangement, dividing the description into an introduction, an overview, and two body paragraphs covering the past and present layouts respectively. However, the progression is occasionally disrupted by mechanical or repetitive cohesive devices. Phrases like 'In detail,' and 'While, today' are used rather awkwardly, and paragraphing could be smoother. Referencing is generally clear, but the lack of varied transitional phrases limits the flow. To reach a higher band, focus on integrating sentences more fluidly and using a wider, more natural range of cohesive devices without over-relying on basic connectors.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for describing spatial changes, incorporating terms such as 'refinements', 'converted', 'upgraded', and 'take away food room'. However, there are notable word choice and collocation errors, such as 'maps depicts', 'sittings', and 'bin is now upgraded with recycle bin' (instead of 'replaced with a recycling bin'). Furthermore, repetitive use of basic nouns and prepositions restricts your score. While communication is not impeded, these inaccuracies and limited flexibility prevent you from achieving a higher band score in lexical resource.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but control over grammar and punctuation is inconsistent. There are several grammatical errors, including subject-verb agreement issues like 'there was two separate dining area' and missing articles or incorrect prepositions, such as 'in the north side' instead of 'on the north side'. Punctuation is also faulty in places, notably with unnecessary commas and capitalization errors at the start of sentences. Although the meaning remains understandable, the frequency of basic grammatical errors means the response falls short of a Band 6.0 for accuracy.

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

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