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 maps illustrates how the college cafetaria looked and changed after the reconstuction.
Overall, the redesigning brought a lot of alterations in the structure, like having an outdoor sitting area with an availability of barbecue. The bins that were placed near the toilets converted in recycling bins. Staff dining rooms are changed into a takeaway food and coffee bar portion. A seprate salad bar is also present in same lining of barbecue and a hot meals area below the kitcen.
The redevelopment of a college cafe highlighted various variation, such as providing the facility of an outdoor sitting area, in addition with a barbecue access as well. The kitcen is placed in the same spot before and after the rennovation; however the place that was a serving area for all food and drinks are converted into hot meals site just.
Furthermore, a side area for a salad bar is also built in front of recyling bins, which was just bins before near the toilets. The center is filled with chairs and tables before and after., however the staff dining rooms are altered into a take away food area and a seprate coffee bar.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0
The candidate successfully addresses the main features of the task by outlining the key changes between the college cafe before and after the redesign. An overview is provided at the beginning, noting major structural alterations such as the addition of an outdoor seating and barbecue area, and the conversion of staff rooms into a takeaway and coffee bar. While the student identifies most of the primary transformations correctly, the response tends to be slightly repetitive in describing the changes across the paragraphs, which limits the depth of the comparison. Nevertheless, all parts of the visual data are covered reasonably well, placing the response at a Band 6.5 level.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response is structured into an introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs, providing a logical framework. Cohesive devices such as 'Overall', 'Furthermore', and 'however' are utilised to connect ideas, although some transitions feel a bit mechanical or repetitive. Paragraphing is present, but the division of ideas could be more balanced; for instance, the body paragraphs group multiple disparate changes together rather than categorising them logically (e.g., by indoor versus outdoor modifications). Referencing is generally clear, though minor organisational faults keep this criterion at Band 6.0.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, attempting some less common lexical items such as 'reconstruction', 'alterations', and 'redevelopment'. However, there are notable spelling and word-choice errors throughout the text, such as 'cafetaria' instead of cafeteria, 'reconstuction' for reconstruction, 'sitting' instead of seating, and 'kitcen' for kitchen. Furthermore, phrases like 'hot meals site just' are awkward and lack natural collocation. Despite these inaccuracies, communication is not impeded, placing the lexical range firmly at Band 6.0.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The student demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as relative clauses ('The bins that were placed...') and passive constructions ('Staff dining rooms are changed into...'). However, there are frequent grammatical inaccuracies, particularly with verb tense consistency (e.g., mixing past tense descriptions with present tense like 'The maps illustrates' and 'The kitcen is placed'). Preposition and article usage also exhibit minor flaws ('in same lining of barbecue'). These errors do not block overall comprehension, aligning the grammar with Band 6.0 descriptors.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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