Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-26
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 two maps present the strategies of a college cafe before remodelled and how it looks today.
Overall, the old cafe was some basic facilities, whereas the new designed cafe is much more facilitiated. Outdoor seating, barbecue, salad bar and a renew recycling bin insead of a simple bin can be seen in redeveloped cafetteria.
In new caffe, the staff dinning rooms are redesigned into take away food and coffee bar. The simple bin on the right side of the caffeteria has been converted to a recycling bin. Moreover, a separate salad bar has been constructed on the left side.
Furthermore, the serving area where all kind of food and drinks were available, has now been changed to hot meals. In the new caffetteria the seating area outside with caffee has also designed with a barbecue setup. However, the three spots remained the same from the old caffee that is kitchen, toilets and tables and chairs.
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 successfully covers the main features of the two maps, identifying key changes such as the conversion of staff dining rooms into a take-away food counter and coffee bar, the addition of a salad bar, outdoor seating, and a barbecue area. The overview attempts to capture the general transformation, noting that the new café is much more facilitated. However, there are some minor inaccuracies and omissions in the data reporting, such as describing the kitchen as remaining in the old place without fully detailing its internal shift to hot meals, and minor phrasing oddities like 'renew recycling bin insead of a simple bin'. Overall, the response addresses all parts of the task with relevant comparisons, earning a solid Band 6.0.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The response is organised into logical paragraphs, beginning with an introductory sentence and an overview, followed by body paragraphs detailing specific spatial changes. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Overall', 'In new caffe', 'Moreover', and 'Furthermore', though some transitions feel a bit mechanical or repetitive. Paragraphing is generally appropriate, separating the overview from the detailed body points. However, referencing is occasionally imprecise, and the flow between sentences could be smoother. It fits the Band 6.0 descriptor for a coherent overall arrangement with some faulty or mechanical cohesion.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The student attempts a range of vocabulary relevant to the visual task, including words like 'remodelled', 'redeveloped', 'cafetteria', 'constructed', and 'conversion'. However, there are noticeable spelling and word-choice errors throughout the text, such as 'facilitiated' instead of 'facilitated', 'renew' instead of 'renewed', 'caffe' and 'caffetteria' instead of 'café', and 'dinning' instead of 'dining'. While the vocabulary is adequate to convey the main points, these persistent lexical and spelling inaccuracies prevent the response from achieving a higher band score.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The student uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as relative clauses and passive voice constructions like 'has now been changed' and 'has been constructed'. However, there are several grammatical errors and awkward phrasings, including 'before remodelled' (instead of 'before being remodelled'), 'was some basic facilities' (instead of 'had some basic facilities'), and 'the seating area outside with caffee has also designed' (passive voice error). Punctuation is generally acceptable, but errors in verb forms and prepositions are frequent enough to occasionally cause slight difficulty, placing this at a Band 5.5.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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