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 plan illustrates a college before it was redesigned and how it looks now. The two structures are present giving us information about the 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 new areas including hot meals, salad bar recycling bin moreover barbecue area with outdoor seating were developed. However, staff dining room is 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 consists 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 accommodate customers. On the other hand, take-away food accompanied by coffee bar has been built. Bin has been upgraded to a recycling bin.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The student successfully covers all major changes shown in the two maps, noting the modifications to the kitchen area, the removal of the staff dining rooms to make way for the take-away food and coffee bar, and the addition of the salad bar, outdoor seating, and barbecue area. The response includes a clear overview and highlights key spatial relationships. While the description is generally accurate, there is some minor confusion in phrasing such as 'tables and chairs in addition to it toilets were at the same location', but the overall task is adequately addressed in line with Band 6.5 or 7 descriptors. The ideas are relevant and support the visual data accurately.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response is structured into distinct paragraphs, attempting to separate the introduction, general overview, and detailed comparisons of the before and after states. However, the logical progression is at times hindered by awkward transitional phrasing, such as 'If we talk about the diagram...' and 'moreover barbecue area with outdoor seating were developed'. Cohesive devices are sometimes mechanical or overused, and referencing between sentences is occasionally unclear. Paragraphing is present and generally appropriate for an Academic Task 1 response, placing it firmly at a Band 6.0 level.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary range to describe physical changes and map locations, utilizing terms such as 'modifications', 'infrastructure', and 'recycling bin'. However, word choice and collocation are occasionally unnatural or imprecise, seen in expressions like 'placement of kitchen' instead of 'the location of the kitchen', or 'beneath to it' and 'lower to it'. There are also minor grammatical-lexical slips such as 'staff dining room' (singular) instead of plural. The range is sufficient for the task but lacks the flexibility and precision required for higher bands.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The writing contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but many complex constructions suffer from awkward phrasing, missing prepositions, or run-on tendencies. For example, '...tables and chairs in addition to it toilets were at the same location whereas new areas including hot meals, salad bar recycling bin moreover barbecue area with outdoor seating were developed' lacks proper punctuation and conjunction control. Errors in prepositions ('at the placement of') and subject-verb agreement ('moreover barbecue area... were developed') are noticeable. While communication is not impeded, the frequent control issues keep the score at a Band 5.5.

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

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