Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-22

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 layout below represent how a college cafe used to  look before its renovation and how it looks at present. Overall, a significant amount of changes can be observed as, cafe became much fuller and have many facilities for the customers. However, some of the major areas such as the kitchen and toilets remained unchanged.

The kitchne remained same after redesign while, the serving area turned into a hot meals area. Before there were two staff dining rooms at the center of the cafe  which later reconstructed into a take away food and a caffee bar rooms. In contrast,  a large area for tables and chairs remained the same and added a salad bar at the far sight of the bins.

At the front side of the cafe many sitting chairs and tables are added along with bardecue facility. The number of toilets remained stable, however a door is installed at its left side and also near barbecue. There was  two way gate near the  recycle bins and it remained same after modify.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The student successfully covers the main features of the two diagrams, noting key changes such as the transformation of the staff dining rooms into a take-away food and coffee bar area, the addition of a salad bar, and the introduction of outdoor seating and a barbecue. An overview is provided in the first paragraph, and relevant comparisons are made, such as noting that the kitchen and toilets remained unchanged. However, there are a few minor inaccuracies and awkward phrasings regarding specific spatial locations, such as stating the salad bar was added at the "far sight of the bins." Overall, the task is addressed well, satisfying the requirements for a Band 6.5 or 7.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The response is logically organized with a clear introduction, body paragraphs detailing specific spatial transformations, and a concluding discussion of exterior changes. Cohesive devices such as "Overall," "However," "Before," and "In contrast" are employed to guide the reader through the comparison. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate general observations from specific alterations. While referencing is generally clear, occasional mechanical transitions and slightly disjointed sentence structures prevent it from reaching a higher band. Progression is clear overall, justifying a Band 6.5.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary range suitable for describing plans and spatial changes, utilizing terms such as "renovation," "reconstructed," "stable," and "facilities." However, there are several noticeable lexical errors and misspellings throughout the text, including "kitchne" for kitchen, "caffee bar rooms" for coffee bar, "sight" instead of site, and "bardecue" for barbecue. These errors do not impede communication because the context remains clear, but they restrict the lexical score to a Band 5.5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, with attempts at relative clauses and past tense narrative structures ("used to look before its renovation," "which later reconstructed into"). There are, however, frequent grammatical errors, particularly with passive voice formation ("which later reconstructed into" instead of "which were later reconstructed into"), missing articles ("added a salad bar"), and subject-verb agreement issues ("a significant amount of changes can be observed as, cafe became"). Although these errors are noticeable and cause some distraction, they rarely obscure the overall meaning, fitting the Band 5.5 descriptors.

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

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