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, 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 kitchen has 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 were later reconstructed into a take away food and caffee bar rooms. In contrast, a large area for tables and chairs has remained the same. A salad bar is also installed at the western side of the cafe wall.
At the front side of the cafe many outdoor seating 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 barbecue. There were two gates near the recycle bins and it remained same after reconstruction.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0
The student successfully addresses the prompt by comparing the main features of the college cafe before and after the redesign. Key changes, such as the addition of the salad bar, outdoor seating, barbecue, and the conversion of the staff dining rooms into a takeaway food and coffee bar, are correctly identified. An overview is provided in the first paragraph. However, there are some minor inaccuracies in reporting the spatial details, such as stating that an entrance was installed near the toilets and barbecue when the plans actually show outdoor seating doors and existing structural features. Overall, all parts of the task are addressed adequately, fitting the Band 6.5 to 7.0 profile, comfortably meeting the Band 6 descriptor for addressing all parts with relevant ideas.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response has a clear overall arrangement, divided into an introductory paragraph and subsequent body paragraphs detailing the modifications. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different zones of the cafe. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Overall', 'However', 'In contrast', and 'also', though some transitions feel slightly mechanical. The progression of ideas is generally logical, moving from the main interior layout changes to the exterior additions. Referencing is mostly clear, though occasional slight awkwardness in referencing spatial relationships prevents a higher band score.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully employing terms like 'renovation', 'reconstructed', 'stable', and 'facility'. There are some spelling and word-choice errors, such as 'caffee' instead of 'coffee' and 'bardecue' instead of 'barbecue'. Less common items are attempted with mixed success, but overall, the lexical resource is sufficient to convey the intended meaning without causing major impediments to communication.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as relative clauses and comparative structures ('The layout below represents how a college cafe used to look...'). There are several grammatical errors and awkward phrasings, including 'The kitchen has remained same after redesign while, the serving area turned into a hot meals area' (missing articles and punctuation errors) and 'Before there were two staff dining rooms...'. However, these errors do not impede communication, and the overall structure reflects a Band 6 level of grammatical control.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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