Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-17
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 plans illustrates a college before it was redesigned and how it looks now. The two structures are present giving us an information about infrastructure of a college cafe.
There were some modifications in the model. For instance, placement of kitchen, tables and chairs in addition to it toilets were at the same location whereas newly areas including hot meals, salad bar recycling bin moreover barbecue area with outdoor seating were developed. However, staff dining room are replaced by take-away food and coffee bar.
If we talk about the diagram before the construction of a cafe, in the north-western corner a kitchen was located with a serving area where foods and drinks were available. In the middle, staff dining rooms were present in the downward direction to it tables and chairs were placed where people sat and relaxed additionally next to it, a bin was positioned below it toilets were situated.
The infrastructure of the cafe today consisted of hot meals area at the placement of serving area also beneath to it salad bar has been established as well as lower to it barbecue area has been constructed along with outdoor seating to accomodate customers. On the other hand, take-away food accompanied by coffe bar has been built. Bin has been upgraded to a recycling bin.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The student successfully covers all major features of the two plans, comparing the layout of the college cafe before its redesign and its current state. Key transformations, such as the replacement of the staff dining rooms with a take-away food counter and coffee bar, as well as the addition of the salad bar, outdoor seating, and barbecue area, are accurately reported. The overview is somewhat basic, but the response adequately addresses all parts of the task. However, there is room for a more fully developed summary of overall changes rather than listing features sequentially. Based on these descriptors, the response meets the criteria for Band 6.0.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response is organized into logical paragraphs, with an introduction, an overview paragraph, and separate paragraphs detailing the past and present layouts. Cohesive devices and referencing are sometimes mechanical or awkward, as seen in phrases like 'in addition to it toilets were at the same location' and 'beneath to it salad bar has been established as well as lower to it'. While paragraphing is used appropriately, the transitional phrases lack fluency and natural progression. These issues place the response firmly at Band 5.5.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The student uses an adequate vocabulary range for the task, successfully employing functional terms related to maps and buildings such as 'infrastructure', 'modifications', 'placement', and 'reconstructed'. However, there are noticeable word choice and collocation errors, such as 'newly areas', 'lower to it', and spelling mistakes like 'accomodate' and 'coffe bar'. Less common vocabulary is attempted with limited precision and control. These characteristics align with a Band 5.0 score.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The writing demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, though attempts at complex structures frequently contain errors in prepositional usage, word order, and punctuation. Examples include 'The plans illustrates a college before it was redesigned' (subject-verb agreement error) and 'staff dining room are replaced'. Punctuation is also sparse, and awkward phrasing causes some strain for the reader. The frequency of grammatical errors places this response at Band 5.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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