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)
This is illustration of map of a cafe before and after it was renovated.
Overall, there are quite many changes such as staff dining rooms are removed, there is an outdoor setting now with a barbecue place. The indoor now has various bars.
Before redesigning , upon entry we face the staff dining rooms which are now replaced by coffee bar and food take away area. The bins on the entrance has now been replaced by recycle bins. The serving area ,infront of the kitchen, at the left top of map is now replaced by hot meals. The area at left of the map which was sitting free , now haa a salad bar. There was no outdoor seating before but now at the bottom of the map there are tables for ourdoor seating including a barbecue place at bottom left of the new map.
There is a good use of area and it is now designed in a way to attract more customers and to handle more customers at once.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response covers the main features of the transformation well, noting the removal of staff dining rooms, the addition of a salad bar, outdoor seating, and a barbecue area. The overview outlines the most prominent changes, satisfying the basic requirements of Task 1. However, the evaluation slips towards the end with subjective commentary regarding the cafe being designed to 'attract more customers', which is not directly present in the visual data. Furthermore, some specific details, such as the exact positioning of features, could be more precisely linked. Overall, the task is addressed adequately, earning a band score of 6.0.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The report has an identifiable structure with a basic introduction, body paragraphs describing the changes, and an overall summary. However, paragraphing is somewhat weak and disjointed, with sentences grouped together rather than clearly separated by logical themes (e.g., mixing indoor modifications with outdoor additions). Cohesive devices are minimal and sometimes repetitive (e.g., 'now replaced', 'at the bottom of the map'). Progression is generally discernible as it moves from the general layout changes to specific additions, but referencing is occasionally loose, such as referring to 'ourdoor seating' with a typo. These cohesion and organization faults place the response firmly in band 5.5.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, successfully identifying various functional areas of the cafe such as 'coffee bar', 'salad bar', and 'barbecue place'. However, the range is limited and repetition occurs frequently, particularly with words like 'replaced' and 'map'. There are also lexical and typographical inaccuracies, such as 'setting' instead of 'seating', 'sitting free', and 'ourdoor'. While the terminology captures the primary elements of the diagrams, the lack of precise collocations and occasional word choice errors restrict the score to a 5.0.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as 'Before redesigning , upon entry we face the staff dining rooms which are now replaced by coffee bar...' Punctuation is frequently erratic, with spaces placed before commas and periods (e.g., 'redesigning ,', 'area ,infront'). There are noticeable grammatical errors, including missing articles ('at left of the map', 'at bottom left'), spelling mistakes ('haa' instead of 'has'), and awkward phrasing. These frequent structural and mechanical errors cause occasional difficulty for the reader, aligning the grammar with a band 5.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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