Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-16
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 two diagram depicts how a cafe owner has expoilted the space for better performance. The first diagram shows a kitchen with serving area with in the accomodation. Kitchen has a good location for ventilation but over occupied with serving area of all food and drink. Moving forward in the main area there are staff dining rooms along tables and chairs assembled outside. In the left corner from enterance there are toilets.
However as for today the cafe has developed its capacity of seating and has inserted new existing features such as coffee bar, salad bar and outdoor barbecue along with outdoor seating layout. A new eco-friendly initiative has been taken, replacing ordinary bins with recycling bins which will benefit cafe in overall rating as well as customer satisfaction
In my opinion the overall remodelling of cafe might have incurred more cost but could result in high profits because as for now cafe can accomodate more customers . Another positive point is that customers now can avail a varierty of menu which will boost the sales for cafe hence quick cost recovering resulting in quick profits.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The student attempts to summarise the visual data by comparing the college cafe before and after the redesign, mentioning features such as the kitchen, seating, toilets, coffee bar, salad bar, and outdoor seating. However, the response falls short of fully satisfying the requirements of Academic Task 1 because it includes a significant amount of personal opinion and speculation in the final paragraphs (e.g., 'the overall remodelling of cafe might have incurred more cost... could result in high profits'). In IELTS Task 1, candidates are expected to present an objective overview of factual information without offering personal commentary or economic theories. Furthermore, while some key features are highlighted, the overview lacks precision regarding the overall spatial changes. Therefore, it meets the criteria for Band 5.0.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is divided into paragraphs, which helps structure the response from the past layout to the current layout and finally into the student's personal commentary. However, the logical progression is hindered by the abrupt inclusion of subjective opinions rather than purely comparative data. Cohesive devices are used to some extent (e.g., 'However as for today', 'Moving forward'), but referencing can be slightly unclear at times, such as 'within the accomodation'. Paragraphing is attempted, but the overall arrangement lacks the smooth, objective flow expected in a higher-band report. These features place the response firmly in Band 5.5.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary range to communicate basic ideas about the layout, utilising words like 'redesigned', 'capacity', 'initiative', and 'eco-friendly'. However, there are noticeable lexical errors and awkward collocations, such as 'expoilted the space' (exploited/utilised), 'over occupied' (overcrowded), and 'quick cost recovering'. Spelling errors also occur, such as 'accomodation' and 'enterance'. Because these errors occasionally cause strain or display a limited range of precise terms for describing spatial changes, the lexical resource is rated at Band 5.5.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as 'The two diagram depicts how a cafe owner has expoilted...' and 'A new eco-friendly initiative has been taken, replacing ordinary bins with recycling bins which will benefit...'. However, there are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text, including subject-verb agreement issues ('The two diagram depicts'), missing articles ('the cafe', 'a cafe'), and awkward punctuation. While meaning is generally clear despite these errors, the high frequency of grammatical slips keeps the score at Band 5.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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