Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-19

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 a floor plan of college cafe before it was redesigned and how it looks now.

Before it was redesigned, the cafe had Kitchen and Serving area including all food and drink in north west direction of floor plan. Then the cafe even had staff dining rooms, table and chairs situated in the middle of the cafe. To the east of the floor plan the cafe had Bin and left to it there was Toilets section.

Overall, the cafe has changed a lot after getting redesigned. Some areas have been converted into new sections such as Take away food, Coffee bar, Hot meals and Recycling bins. In addition, new areas like Salad bar, Barbecue and Outdoor seating have been added, while the Toilets, tables and chairs have remained in the same place.

However, the cafe has changed a lot now after getting redesigned. Like previously, there was a Serving area beside kitchen but now it has been converted to hot meals. Even Salad bar has also been added to the west side of the cafe. Staff dining rooms has been converted to Take away food and Coffee bar now.

The cafe today shows the new section to the southern part of it for Barbecue and Outdoor seating while the Bin has been converted to Recycling bins. Toilets, Tables and chairs are at the same place they were before the cafe got redesigned.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The student successfully addresses the main features of the two maps, highlighting key changes such as the conversion of the staff dining rooms into a take-away food area and coffee bar, the addition of a salad bar, outdoor seating, and a barbecue area, as well as the retention of certain features like the toilets and the kitchen. An overview is provided in the third paragraph, summarizing the overall transformation. However, the response suffers from significant repetition across paragraphs—particularly in the final two paragraphs where the changes to the serving area, staff dining rooms, and toilets are restated multiple times. While the information provided is generally accurate based on the visual data, the lack of careful paragraph planning and repetitive content prevent the response from achieving a higher band score.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is divided into distinct paragraphs, attempting to separate the description of the original layout, an overview, and specific changes. However, the progression is hindered by repetitive phrasing and redundant statements between the body paragraphs. Cohesive devices are used, but sometimes mechanically or awkwardly, such as repetitive transitions like 'Before it was redesigned' and 'However, the cafe has changed a lot now'. Furthermore, paragraphing lacks clear thematic separation, as the discussion of specific changes is fragmented and repeated rather than being grouped logically.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, incorporating specific terms from the visual data such as 'serving area', 'staff dining rooms', 'take away food', 'coffee bar', 'salad bar', and 'recycling bins'. There are attempts to use less common vocabulary like 'converted' and 'remained in the same place'. However, the range is limited, and there is noticeable repetition of basic verbs and nouns throughout the text (e.g., repeating 'changed a lot', 'cafe', and 'converted' multiple times). Spelling and word formation are generally accurate, but the lexical monotony restricts the score to a solid 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing prepositional phrases and subordinate clauses (e.g., 'Before it was redesigned, the cafe had...'). There are several grammatical errors and awkward phrasings, such as missing articles ('a floor plan', 'Kitchen and Serving area'), incorrect prepositions ('in north west direction', 'left to it'), and subject-verb agreement issues ('Staff dining rooms has been converted'). While these errors do not completely impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent the grammar score from reaching Band 6.5.

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

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