Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-18
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 how a college cafe looked before it was restructured and how it appears now.
Overall, some significant changes in the redesign of the college cafe are evident with the addition of outdoor seating and a barbecue area. Some places and areas are modified like staff dining is transformed into a coffee bar and a take away counter. Normal bins are updated to recycling bins.
The new design of the college cafe shows noticeable changes. Firstly, if we talk about additional changes like an extension of an outdoor seating with a specified place for barbecue. Moreover, a salad bar is introduced in the internal part of the cafe.
On the other hand, some already established places have given a face lift like remodelling of staff dining rooms into two areas. (take away counter and a coffee bar) serving area in the north-west is reshaped into a hot meals. Bins in the
east are upgraded to recycling
bins to reuse the waste products.
[strikethrough] In conclusion, the [/strikethrough]
old traditional cafe has now
become more modern [strikethrough] with [/strikethrough]
some changes and transformations
being observed.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The student successfully addresses the main features of the prompt by comparing the college cafe before and after the redesign. An adequate overview is provided, highlighting the addition of outdoor seating, a barbecue area, and the modification of indoor facilities. Key spatial changes, such as the transformation of staff dining into a take-away counter and coffee bar, the addition of a salad bar, and the repositioning of bins to recycling facilities, are accurately reported. However, some minor details could have been integrated more smoothly, and the conclusion is slightly fragmented. Overall, the response fulfills the requirements of Task 1 adequately, earning a band score of 6.0.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response demonstrates a clear overall progression with the use of standard introductory and developmental framing, such as 'Overall' and 'On the other hand'. Paragraphing is attempted, but the structure suffers towards the end with fragmented sentences and abrupt line breaks, such as 'Bins in the east are upgraded to recycling / bins to reuse the waste products.' Cohesive devices are used, but referencing is occasionally mechanical. While logical sequencing is maintained for the most part, the formatting issues and disjointed concluding paragraphs pull the cohesion down to a band 5.5.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for describing maps and physical changes, such as 'restructured', 'redesign', 'extension', and 'remodelling'. Less common lexical items are attempted, including 'face lift' and 'transformed'. However, there are some minor word choice and collocation issues, such as 'established places have given a face lift' instead of 'given a facelift'. Spelling is generally accurate, but vocabulary range remains fairly standard and repetitive in places, justifying a band 6.0.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, including conditional-style phrasing ('if we talk about additional changes') and relative clauses. There are several grammatical errors and awkward phrasings, such as 'some already established places have given a face lift like remodelling' (missing passive voice) and punctuation issues where sentences are broken mid-phrase across lines. Despite these errors, meaning is generally clear and does not impede communication. This level corresponds to a band 5.5.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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