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

The kitchnen 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. A salad bar is added at the front sight of the recycling bins.

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

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The candidate provides a clear overview of the main changes between the two plans, noting both additions (outdoor seating, barbecue, salad bar, takeaway and coffee bar) and elements that remained the same (kitchen, toilets, main seating area). Key features of the transformation are selected and reported appropriately. However, there are minor inaccuracies in spatial reporting, such as stating the salad bar is placed 'at the front sight of the recycling bins' when the visual shows it on the western wall opposite the bins. Additionally, the description of the new southern doors as an entrance rather than exits/access to outdoor seating is slightly imprecise. Overall, all parts of the task are addressed adequately, placing it firmly at Band 6.5.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response is organized into four distinct paragraphs, beginning with a satisfactory introduction and overview. Logical transitions are used, such as 'Overall', 'However', and 'In contrast', which help guide the reader through the comparison. However, paragraphing could be structured more cleanly, and referencing is occasionally mechanical. For instance, the transition between sentences in the final paragraph feels slightly disjointed when discussing the toilets and doors. Cohesive devices are generally present and adequate, but mechanical over-use or awkward linking prevents the response from reaching a higher band. Coherence is maintained overall, satisfying the Band 6 descriptors.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The candidate demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully using terms like 'renovation', 'facilities', 'unaltered', and 'reconstructed'. There are, however, several spelling and word-choice errors, such as 'substantial changes' combined with the singular article ('a substantial changes'), 'kitchnen', 'caffee', 'sitting' instead of 'seating', and 'bardecue'. These errors occasionally distract the reader, though they do not seriously impede overall communication. Less common lexical items are attempted with mixed success, placing this criterion at Band 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response includes a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as 'Overall, a substantial changes can be observed as the cafe became much fuller...' and 'Before there were two staff dining rooms at the center of the cafe which later reconstructed into...'. Grammatical errors are noticeable throughout, including subject-verb agreement issues ('a substantial changes'), passive voice errors ('which later reconstructed into' instead of 'which were later reconstructed into'), and missing prepositions or articles. While communication remains clear, the frequency of grammatical slips limits the score to Band 5.5.

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

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