Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

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

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 map compares the amminities that has been constructed and rebuilded in the cafe of a collage.

Overall,several facilities has been added in the bottom part of the map, whereas some areas has been rebuilded and used for a distinct purpose. Additionally, the internal area occupied by the cafe including kitchen ramains steady.

Looking at the bottom of the map, Outdoor seating has been introduced, along with a Barbecue in the north west part of the cafe. Similarly, the salad bar has been newely constructed in the western part. The location of toilet and bins are also stedy, but the size of recycle bin has been enhanced.

The area used for serving foods and drinks has been modified into hot meals section. And the areas that were used to be the rooms for staff dinning has been rebuilded as Take away food and another room into a coffee bar. Moreover, the space and placement of kitchen and sitting area inside the cafe(tables and chairs) remained constant and slightly changed significantly changed.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The student attempts to cover the main changes between the two maps, noting the addition of the outdoor seating, barbecue, salad bar, and the conversion of staff rooms into a take away and coffee bar. However, there are some inaccuracies regarding locations, such as placing the barbecue in the 'north west part' when it is actually to the south-west outside the building. Furthermore, the overview contains contradictory information in the final sentence ('remained constant and slightly changed significantly changed'), which weakens the clarity of the overall response. While all major features are touched upon, the lack of precision in spatial descriptions places this at Band 5.5.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The response is structured into an introduction, overview, and body paragraphs, showing a basic attempt to group information logically. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Overall', 'Additionally', and 'Similarly', though some transitions feel a bit mechanical. There are referencing issues and confusion in paragraph progression, notably in the final sentence where the writer contradicts themselves about whether things stayed constant or changed. Paragraphing is attempted, but overall cohesion is disrupted by awkward phrasing and internal contradictions, resulting in a Band 6.0 score.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for describing basic changes (e.g., 'constructed', 'modified', 'enhanced'), but it is marred by numerous spelling and word-form errors. Examples include 'amminities' (amenities), 'rebuilded' (rebuilt), 'collage' (college), 'ramains' (remains), 'stedy' (steady), and 'newely' (newly). The writer attempts some less common vocabulary items, but the high frequency of lexical and spelling errors impedes fluent reading and keeps the score at Band 5.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as 'The map compares the amminities that has been constructed...' and 'the area used for serving foods and drinks has been modified...'. However, grammatical accuracy is weak, featuring subject-verb agreement errors ('several facilities has', 'areas has been'), tense confusion, and awkward phrasing. Punctuation is generally present, but persistent structural and grammatical errors occur throughout the text, warranting a Band 5.0.

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

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