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 two map depicts the changes of a college cafe and how it reconstructed.
Overall, the cafe underwent considerable changes, with serving area and staff dining rooms replaced with hot meals, take away and coffee bar respectively. In addition, a large area is allocated for outdoor seating with barbecue at the south.
In the north-west part, the kitchen is reamained unchanged, but the serving area before was replaced with hot meals.In the centre of the cafe, the two blocks with staff dining area was replaced with the new food take away counter and coffee bar respectively, whereas the table and chairs remained the same.Also in the west side a new salad bar was introduced.
In the south-east part, the bin and toilets are similarly placed in the new cafe as well.The major change in cafe was nmear the south part, where a new barbecue is installed, along with a massive outdoor seating in a wide area.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0
The student successfully addresses all parts of the task by reporting the main features and making relevant comparisons between the two plans. The overview clearly highlights the primary transformations, such as the replacement of the serving area and staff dining rooms. Key details, including the addition of the salad bar, outdoor seating, and barbecue, are accurately reported and grounded in the visual data. Although some descriptions could be slightly more expansive, the response meets all core requirements of Task Achievement. Band score: 6.5.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response is organized into logical paragraphs, beginning with an introduction and overview, followed by specific spatial details. Cohesive devices such as 'In addition', 'whereas', and 'Also' are used to connect ideas, though some transitions feel slightly mechanical. Paragraphing is used appropriately to group information by location and theme. However, referencing can occasionally feel repetitive. Overall, there is a clear logical progression from the general overview to specific north, west, and south-eastern features. Band score: 6.0.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for describing maps and spatial changes, using terms like 'reconstructed', 'allocated', and 'introduced'. However, there are some noticeable word choice and collocation errors, such as 'The two map depicts' (should be maps depict) and 'nmear the south part' (typographical error for near). Less common lexical items are attempted with mixed success. Communication is generally clear, but inaccuracies prevent a higher band. Band score: 6.0.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as participial phrases and subordinate clauses ('with serving area and staff dining rooms replaced...'). However, there are several grammatical errors throughout the text, including subject-verb agreement issues ('The two map depicts', 'the kitchen is reamained'), missing articles ('serving area' instead of 'the serving area'), and minor punctuation flaws. These errors do not impede overall communication, but they occur frequently enough to restrict the score. Band score: 6.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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