Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-14

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 shows the renovation of a college cafe and how it is redesigned to utilise the space efficiently.

Initially the cafe has a single-unit kitchen area with a serving area in the front for all kinds of foods, which is replaced by a hot meal section after the redesign. Previously made staff dining rooms are now made into two different sections: one is the takeaway food, other is the coffee bar. A newly added salad bar is also present at the left middle of the cafe and instead of simple bins, like the previous ones, new recycling bins are introduced.

There was no outdoor sitting in the previous cafe, however, after the renovation the outdoor space is utilised efficiently by adding an outdoor sitting. In addition to that a barbecue section is also inteoduced on the left side of the cafe, however, in the indoor sitting, the toilets remain in the same place as they were before the redesign.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response covers all the main features of the before and after plans of the college cafe, successfully reporting key transformations such as the introduction of a hot meal section, takeaway food area, coffee bar, and outdoor seating. Comparisons are made throughout the text, such as noting that the previous single-unit kitchen was replaced and that outdoor seating was added where none existed before. However, the description lacks an overall summary statement in the introduction or conclusion to synthesise the broader changes, which prevents the response from reaching a higher band level. Despite this minor structural omission, the main trends and specific alterations are clearly identified and reported with sufficient detail.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The text presents a coherent overall arrangement with a clear logical progression from indoor layout changes to outdoor additions. Paragraphing is used reasonably well to separate different aspects of the renovation, moving from the general kitchen and food counters in the second paragraph to the outdoor and remaining features in the third paragraph. Cohesive devices are generally handled appropriately, using phrases like 'Initially', 'which is replaced by', and 'In addition to that'. However, referencing and transitions between ideas could be smoother, as seen in phrases like 'one is the takeaway food, other is the coffee bar' which lack necessary articles and connective polish. Overall organisation is clear enough to ensure the reader can easily follow the sequence of changes.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, allowing the student to successfully describe various architectural and layout features of the cafe. Words such as 'renovation', 'efficiently', and 'redesigned' demonstrate an appropriate level of vocabulary for an Academic Task 1 response. There are some less common items attempted, such as 'single-unit kitchen' and 'barbecue section', showing a willingness to vary language. However, some inaccuracies occur in word choice and phrasing, such as 'outdoor sitting' instead of 'outdoor seating', and minor typographical errors like 'inteoduced'. While these do not impede communication, they reflect a Band 6 level of lexical resource where precision is occasionally lacking.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, incorporating relative clauses such as 'which is replaced by a hot meal section' and conditional/contrastive ideas. There are several error-free sentences, demonstrating good control over basic grammatical structures and present tense verbs suitable for describing a map or plan. However, a few grammatical errors and awkward phrasings persist, such as subject-verb agreement issues in the opening sentence ('The diagrams shows') and missing articles ('other is the coffee bar', 'adding an outdoor sitting'). Punctuation is generally acceptable, but commas are occasionally missing in introductory clauses. These errors do not impede overall communication, placing the writing firmly in the Band 6 category.

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