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 maps illustrate how the college cafe was changed after redesign interms of infrastructure and layout.
Overall, the area experinced significant modernization, with construction of several facilities such as take away and coffee corner with removal of certain old feature like staff dining area.
One of the most striking changes, was the transformation of staff dining room, which was originally a traditional eating area for staff, into modern take away corner and a coffee bar. Similarly, bin was located in the east which was replaced by recycling bins. Additionally, the new barbecue section is build in the south west direction.
In addition to these change, new outdoor seating area in the south direction. Meanwhile, kitchen area remained largely unchanged after redesign of cafe. Moreover, the area in west, which was previously unused, saw a introduction to salad bar by present time.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response covers the main features of the before-and-after maps, noting key changes such as the transformation of the staff dining area into a take-away corner and coffee bar, the addition of a salad bar, outdoor seating, and a barbecue section. An overview is present at the beginning. However, the response falls short of the 150-word minimum requirement, containing only 141 words, which incurs a penalty. Furthermore, some details are slightly imprecise, such as describing the outdoor seating as being added 'in the south direction' rather than clearly identifying the newly added southern doors and patio area. Overall, the task is addressed, but the length constraint is not met.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The text is organized into logical paragraphs, beginning with an introductory statement, followed by an overview paragraph, and then body paragraphs detailing specific spatial changes. Cohesive devices such as 'Overall', 'One of the most striking changes', 'Similarly', 'In addition to these change', and 'Meanwhile' are used to guide the reader through the comparison. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different areas of the cafe. However, referencing and cohesive links are sometimes slightly mechanical, and there are minor structural errors in linking phrases, but overall the logical progression is clear.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student attempts some less common vocabulary relevant to map descriptions, such as 'infrastructure', 'layout', 'modernization', and 'transformation'. There are, however, several lexical errors and awkward word choices, such as 'experinced' (spelling error for 'experienced'), 'take away and coffee corner' (inconsistent collocation), 'feature' instead of 'features', and 'saw a introduction to salad bar' (unnatural phrasing). Despite these inaccuracies, the vocabulary is adequate to convey the basic comparisons required for the task.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as 'The maps illustrate how the college cafe was changed...' and 'One of the most striking changes, was the transformation...'. However, there are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text, including missing articles ('the area experinced', 'into modern take away corner', 'in east', 'to salad bar'), punctuation errors (unnecessary comma in 'One of the most striking changes, was...'), and preposition or verb form errors ('is build' instead of 'is built', 'change' instead of 'changes'). These errors do not completely impede communication, but they lower the overall grammatical accuracy.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.