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 illustrates how a college cafe has changed from before and after redesign.
Overall, the cafe has undergone considerable development. While some facilities kitchen, table and chairs and toilet have remained unchanged. New outdoor seating area and barbecue area have developed.
Looking first at before cafe redesign, kitchen was located in north part of plan and serving area was lies in south part of plan. staff dining room was situated in the north-east site of the plan, while table and chairs were located in the center. In addition, bin was located in the south-east site and it near the toilet area.
At today, kitchen and tables and chairs have remained unchanged and serving area has been converted to the hot meals area. staff dining room has been changed to the takeaway food and coffee bar. Recycle bin has been developed into south-eastern site and adjacent toilet. Today, outdoor seating and barbecue area have been newly developed. salad bar has been developed the western site of the plan.
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 covers all major changes presented in the two plans, including the conversion of the staff dining room, the modification of the serving area into hot meals, and the addition of the salad bar, outdoor seating, and barbecue area. An overview is present, and key features are contrasted successfully. However, there are minor inaccuracies in reporting the unchanged elements; for instance, the text claims that tables and chairs remained unchanged, whereas the seating layout and outdoor options were actually expanded. Overall, the response satisfies the requirements of Task 1, though development is slightly basic.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response is arranged into four paragraphs, providing a logical progression from an introduction and overview to specific details of the past and present layouts. Paragraphing is used appropriately. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical and awkward, notably phrases like 'At today' instead of 'Today' or 'Currently'. Referencing is generally clear, but cohesive devices are occasionally repetitive or overused. While the logical flow is evident, the lack of smoother transitions and occasional awkward linking expressions limit the score to a solid band 6.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, successfully identifying various architectural features and functional areas such as 'serving area', 'coffee bar', 'barbecue area', and 'recycle bin'. However, word choice and collocation display inaccuracies, such as 'before cafe redesign' instead of 'before the café was redesigned' and 'developed into south-eastern site'. Less common vocabulary is attempted but lacks precision. Spelling is generally accurate, but lexical control is limited, placing the response firmly in the band 6 range.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as 'While some facilities kitchen, table and chairs and toilet have remained unchanged' and 'The map illustrates how a college cafe has changed'. However, there are numerous grammatical errors throughout the text, including missing articles ('in north part', 'to hot meals area'), incorrect prepositions ('in south part', 'into south-eastern site'), and punctuation or capitalization issues (lowercase letters at the start of sentences like 'At today'). These errors do not completely impede communication, but they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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