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 Map shows the construction plan of cafe in college. It shows the changes in the design of cafe based on how it looked earlier, and at present.

Overall the design of cafe has changed drastically, at first there were only a few things that were necessary for the cafe, however, many things have changed now as it is more developed.

In the beginning, the cafe design was simple. the cafe had a kitchen and a big hall, which included tables and chairs, bin, toilets, and staff dining rooms. The design was minimalist.

currently, it is redesigned with more advancements. the hall now has a sala d bar, the staff dining room is now transformed to takeaway food and a coffee bar. The bin is now changed into a recycling bin. The most important improvement is the outdoor seating are, which now includes more table and chair. Furthermore, there is now a barbecue stand outside the cafe.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response covers the main features of the two plans, noting the key changes such as the addition of the salad bar, outdoor seating, and barbecue, as well as the transformation of the staff dining rooms. However, the overview is rather simplistic and does not highlight the broader spatial transformation effectively. Furthermore, some descriptions are brief and lack precise locational reporting, such as specifying where the new features were added relative to the original layout. It satisfies the basic requirements of Academic Task 1 by reporting the main features and making some comparisons, placing it solidly in the mid-range bands.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The text is divided into four short paragraphs, which helps structure the introduction, overview, and body details. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'In the beginning' and 'currently', but referencing and transitions can be a bit mechanical or repetitive. The logical progression is generally clear, moving from an overview to past features and then present modifications. However, paragraphing is somewhat choppy, and the overall flow could be enhanced with more sophisticated transitional phrasing between sentences and ideas.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary range for the task, successfully using terms like 'drastically', 'minimalist', and 'advancements'. There are occasional spelling errors, such as 'sala d bar' instead of 'salad bar', and some minor awkwardness in word choices, such as 'construction plan of cafe in college'. Less common vocabulary is attempted with varying degrees of success, but the lexical choices generally allow the message to be communicated clearly without significant misinterpretation.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as 'It shows the changes in the design of cafe based on how it looked earlier, and at present.' There are several punctuation and capitalization errors, such as starting sentences with lowercase letters ('the cafe had a kitchen', 'currently, it is redesigned') and omitting articles ('construction plan of cafe'). Despite these errors, the grammar does not impede overall comprehension, and the majority of simple structures are accurate.

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

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