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 illustrates the changes made to a college cafe, comparing it's layout before the revoation with it's current arrangement.

Prior the redesigning, the cafe semees simple and was offering limited facilities, whereas the new scheme is modernised and verstile.

There are some significant changes that have been made to the staff dining rooms, now utilised for take away food and coffee bar. Following that the overall food serving area specified to just hot meals serving. However, the main dining hal and the kitchen operates at the same position, a salad bar introduced and placed on the left hand side. A prominant development held in the backside that provides an outdoor seating and a barbecue set up on the left corner. Other than that bins has been replaced by the recycling bins and toilets remained at the same position.

Overall the cafe become more convinient and properly structured. The outside area has been utilised effectively, adding a salad and coffee bar was a good addition.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The student addresses all parts of the task by reporting the main features and making relevant comparisons between the two plans. An overview is provided at the beginning and end, highlighting the general transformation of the café. Key changes—such as the conversion of the staff dining rooms into a takeaway and coffee bar, the addition of a salad bar, and the introduction of outdoor seating and a barbecue—are successfully identified and described. However, there are some minor inaccuracies and awkward phrasings in reporting specific locations (e.g., stating the kitchen operates at the same position, which is accurate, but missing minor spatial nuances). Overall, the response covers the requirements of Task 1 adequately, placing it firmly at Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response is organized into clear paragraphs, including an introduction, a body paragraph detailing the physical changes, and a concluding overview. There is a logical progression of ideas from the interior modifications to the exterior developments. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Prior the redesigning', 'Following that', and 'Other than that', although some transitions feel slightly mechanical or are grammatically flawed (e.g., 'Following that the overall food serving area specified to just hot meals serving'). Paragraphing is sufficient and appropriate for an Academic Task 1 response, supporting an overall coherent arrangement.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student attempts a range of vocabulary suitable for describing maps and plans, using words such as 'modernised', 'versatile', 'development', and 'arrangement'. However, there are numerous word choice and spelling errors throughout the text, such as 'revoation' instead of renovation, 'semees' instead of seemed, 'verstile' instead of versatile, 'hal' instead of hall, and 'convinient' instead of convenient. While the intended meaning is generally clear despite these errors, the frequent lexical slips prevent the response from achieving a higher band score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as 'Prior the redesigning, the cafe semees simple and was offering limited facilities, whereas the new scheme is modernised and verstile.' However, grammatical accuracy is weak, with several errors including missing prepositions ('Prior the redesigning'), subject-verb agreement issues ('the cafe become'), incorrect word forms ('cafe semees simple'), and awkward passive structures ('a salad bar introduced'). Punctuation and article usage also need attention. These errors occur frequently, though they do not completely impede communication.

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.