Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-27
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 the changes that took place in a college cafe in the past and now.
Overall, the college cafe has undergone significant changes in its layout and facilities. Several areas were relocated and replaced, while new facilities, such as hotel meals, takeaway foods, and coffee bar, were introduced.
In the past, the cafe had a kitchen and serving area in the northeast corner, while the toilets were in the southwest corner. In the centre of the cafe, there were tables and chairs, the staff dining rooms were in the north side of the cafe, while the bin were on the west side of the cafe.
At present, the serving area has been converted into hot meals, while a staff dining rooms has been replaced with takeaway food and coffee bar. The bins has been converted into recycling bins and salad bar has been installed. a barbecue and outdoor seating has been installed in the south side of the cafe.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The response covers all parts of the task well, providing an overview of the main changes and reporting specific features of the college cafe before and after the redesign. The student correctly notes the replacement of staff dining rooms with takeaway food and coffee bars, the addition of a salad bar, outdoor seating, and a barbecue. However, there are some noticeable inaccuracies in spatial references. For instance, the student states that the kitchen and serving area were in the 'northeast corner' and that bins were on the 'west side', whereas the reference data places them in the northwest/upper-left and eastern wall respectively. Despite these locational errors, the general trends and major alterations are adequately identified, supporting a solid Band 6.0 performance.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0
The essay is coherent overall with a clear logical arrangement divided into an introduction, an overview paragraph, and two body paragraphs detailing the past and current layouts. Cohesive devices such as 'Overall', 'In the past', and 'At present' are used to structure the information chronologically and guide the reader. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the introduction, overview, and specific comparative details. However, referencing and progression are occasionally hindered by spatial inaccuracies and some repetitive sentence structures, keeping this criterion at a Band 6.5 level.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating functional terms related to maps and changes, such as 'redesigned', 'relocated', 'replaced', and 'converted'. There are some successful attempts at less common vocabulary, like 'facilities' and 'recycling bins'. However, there are notable lexical errors and unnatural collocations, such as 'hotel meals' instead of 'hot meals', 'a staff dining rooms' (singular article with plural noun), and 'the bin were'. These vocabulary and grammatical agreement errors mean the lexical resource sits comfortably within Band 6.0.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, employing structures like 'The map illustrates the changes that took place...' and 'Several areas were relocated...'. Control over grammar and punctuation is mixed. There are several clear errors involving subject-verb agreement and singular/plural forms, such as 'the bin were', 'a staff dining rooms has been replaced', and 'The bins has been converted'. Additionally, there is a missing capital letter at the beginning of the final sentence ('a barbecue and outdoor seating...'). While these errors do not impede overall communication, they prevent the score from reaching a higher band, resulting in a Band 6.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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