Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-24
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 detailed remodeled design of college cafeteria, which is more equipped with advance features.
In a general, there are multiple differences in the old and newly renovated cafeteria. Sitting capacity was increased in new cafe along with barbecue spot.
While Kitchen area remains at the same point but serving area including all food and drink was limited to hot meals section. Now, heading towards in hall, many things are transformed such as staff dinning rooms are dissmissed from main hall in place of Take away counter and coffee bar. In additon, salad bar was also constructed as it was not available in old cafe design.
Furthermore, bin section is upgraded to recycled bins within hall. Toilets of cafe are not redesigned or replaced and has same place as within cafe before renovation. Now a huge developement was the expansion of outdoor sitting area which can be favourite sitting spot for customers. Along with it barbecue section was also added at the top left side outdoor sitting area, which enhanced cafe:s
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 student attempts to address the task by comparing the old and new layouts of the college cafeteria. An overview is attempted at the beginning and end, mentioning key transformations such as the outdoor seating area, the barbecue spot, and the salad bar. However, the response contains some inaccuracies and missing information; for instance, the staff dining rooms are incorrectly described as being completely dismissed from the main hall when they were actually replaced by the take-away counter and coffee bar, which still occupy space along the northern wall. Furthermore, the final sentence trails off incomplete ('enhanced cafe:s'). While the main features are touched upon, the lack of full development and minor factual misinterpretations place this at a Band 5.5.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The text is organized into brief paragraphs, starting with an introductory sentence, followed by general observations, body details, and a conclusion. Transitional phrases such as 'While Kitchen area remains', 'Now, heading towards in hall', and 'Furthermore' are used to guide the reader through the comparison. However, paragraphing is somewhat fragmented, and logical progression is occasionally hindered by abrupt transitions and awkward sentence phrasing (e.g., 'In a general, there are multiple differences...'). Referencing is sometimes unclear, such as the dangling transition at the end of the text. Overall cohesion is mechanical and repetitive, satisfying the requirements for Band 6.0.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, with attempts at less common and topic-specific items such as 'remodeled design', 'cafeteria', 'renovated', and 'outdoor sitting area'. However, there are noticeable word-choice errors, unnatural collocations, and missing words (e.g., 'advance features' instead of 'advanced features', 'dinning rooms', 'dissmissed', 'recycled bins' instead of 'recycling bins', and 'outdoor sitting' instead of 'outdoor seating'). Spelling errors like 'dissmissed' and punctuation/formatting slips like 'cafe:s' also occur. The vocabulary is minimally adequate to convey the general meaning, earning a Band 5.0.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as introductory subordinate clauses ('While Kitchen area remains at the same point...'). However, grammatical accuracy is weak, featuring frequent errors in articles, prepositions, and verb forms (e.g., 'detailed remodeled design of college cafeteria', 'In a general', 'at the same point', 'heading towards in hall', 'has same place'). There is also a sentence fragment/incomplete ending at the close of the text. These frequent errors cause occasional strain for the reader, fitting the Band 5.0 descriptors.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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