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 present.

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 a 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, and the staff dining rooms were on the north side of the cafe, while bins were on the west side of the cafe.

At present, the serving area has been replaced with hot meals, while staff dining rooms have been replaced with takeaway food and a coffee bar. The bins have been replaced with recycling bins and a salad bar has been installed. A barbecue and outdoor seating have been installed on the south side of the cafe.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The student covers the main features of the two plans, noting the significant changes in layout and facilities, such as the replacement of the staff dining rooms with a takeaway food and coffee bar area, and the addition of the outdoor seating and barbecue. However, there are a few notable inaccuracies in spatial references: the student states that the kitchen and serving area were in the 'northeast corner' and bins were on the 'west side', whereas the reference plan shows them in the northwest/upper-left and eastern wall respectively. Furthermore, a minor slip occurs with the typo 'hotel meals' instead of 'hot meals'. Despite these inaccuracies, the overall progression and key transformations are adequately reported, corresponding to a Band 6.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response is organized logically with a clear introduction, an overview paragraph summarizing the general transformation, and distinct body paragraphs contrasting the past layout with the current one. Cohesive devices are used to guide the reader through the comparison (e.g., 'In the past', 'At present', 'while'). However, paragraphing and referencing can feel somewhat repetitive due to the heavy reliance on starting sentences with similar location phrases (e.g., 'on the north side of the cafe', 'on the west side of the cafe'). Progression is clear overall, but the mechanical nature of the linking places this in the Band 6 territory.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task, successfully incorporating specific terms from the prompt and general descriptive items like 'relocated', 'replaced', and 'installed'. There are some vocabulary inaccuracies, most notably the confusion of 'hot meals' with 'hotel meals' in the overview paragraph. Other choices are somewhat repetitive, such as repeatedly using the verb 'replaced'. Less common lexical items are attempted but lack precision and stylistic sophistication. This performance fits the Band 6 descriptor, where the range is adequate for the task but contains occasional word-choice errors.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and compound-complex structures effectively (e.g., 'Several areas were relocated and replaced, while new facilities... were introduced.'). Grammatical accuracy is generally good; the majority of sentences are clear and understandable despite minor awkwardness. Punctuation is handled reasonably well, and errors do not impede communication. This balanced control of mixed sentence types with minor non-systematic errors warrants a Band 6.

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

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