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 diagrams compares the changes of a college canteen before the construction and then after the redesigned infrastructure.
Overall, the college cafe contains more public utilities today after the refurnish structure. Meanwhile, the main thing which is added in this college cafe is the barbecue outside from the main hall and also outdoor seating area is feasible. Therefore, the old college cafe is totally converted into a new advanced cafe.
Turning to the details, the serving area which included the all food and drink has to be changed into a new hot meals. In general, the small bin in the old cafe is also be converted into a big recycling bins and the small gate is also opened nearly to the toilets.
In contrast, the staff dining rooms in the middle eastest side of the hall are changed by the new rooms such as take away food and coffee bar. The salad bar stall is added in the west side of the main big hall.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The student attempts to address the task by describing the main changes between the two maps of the college cafe. An overview is provided in the second paragraph, noting the addition of outdoor seating and a barbecue. However, the response contains several inaccuracies and misinterpretations of the visual data. For instance, the student states that the staff dining rooms are in the 'middle eastest side' (they are along the north wall) and refers to doors being opened 'nearly to the toilets' when new doors were actually added to the southern wall leading to outdoor seating. Furthermore, some key features like the salad bar are mentioned late in the text with minimal development. Because of these inaccuracies and underdeveloped comparisons, the response meets the criteria for Band 5.5.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The text is organized into four paragraphs, including a brief introduction, an overview, and two body paragraphs focusing on specific changes. Logical connectors such as 'Overall', 'Turning to the details', and 'In contrast' are used to structure the response. However, paragraphing and referencing are sometimes awkward or confusing, such as grouping the bin changes and door additions together in the same paragraph as the serving area transformation. Cohesive devices are occasionally mechanical or inaccurate (e.g., 'Meanwhile, the main thing which is added...'). Overall, the organization provides a basic logical progression, but cohesion is occasionally faulty, aligning with a Band 6.0.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, allowing the student to communicate basic transformations such as 'refurnish structure', 'converted', and 'take away food'. However, there are frequent inappropriate word choices and non-standard collocations, such as 'public utilities', 'eastest side', and 'big recycling bins'. The range of vocabulary is somewhat limited and repetitive, and errors in word formation (e.g., 'redesigned infrastructure' instead of 'redesign') occasionally distract the reader. These limitations place the lexical resource firmly in the Band 5.5 range.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as relative clauses ('the serving area which included the all food and drink') and passive constructions ('is also be converted'). However, the text contains frequent grammatical errors, including tense inconsistencies ('has to be changed', 'is also be converted', 'are changed by'), incorrect verb forms, and missing articles ('the west side of the main big hall'). While these errors do not completely obscure the overall meaning, they occur regularly and restrict the frequency of error-free sentences, warranting a Band 5.5.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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