Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-28
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 plans illustrate the before and after redesigning the map of a college cafe.
Overall, there are two plans in the form of maps for a college cafe. The before is an outdated version but the after one is upgraded and has too many new features which leads to the addition of more sections in a cafe.
Before the redesigning , it consists of a kitchen and a serving area where all kids of food and drinks are available. The remaining hue area has ample amount of table and chairs for students and a specialized room for faculty and staff. In the right bottom , there are bathrooms and few steps further, there is a bin.
After redesigning, the cafe map shows much more spaces for diiferent things like hot meal, take away foods and coffee bar etc. In the entrance, there is a kitchen and a section for hot food items. the kitchen leading to a huge area where there are different small sections. On the left side, there is a salad bar. There are recycling bins opposie to the salad bar. There are two small spaces for take away food iems and coffee bar as well which are side by side on the map. the remaining middle part is a seating area which has tables and chairs.On the right corner at the bottom, there are restrooms too. In the last area of the map, there is one more addition of outdooe seating and a separate space for barbecue too in there.
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 candidate attempts to cover the main features of the before and after plans, noting the replacement of staff dining rooms with a take away food section and coffee bar, the addition of a salad bar, outdoor seating, and a barbecue area. However, the overview is rather simplistic, stating merely that the updated plan has 'too many new features.' Furthermore, there are some inaccuracies and vague descriptions in reporting the spatial arrangements, such as stating that 'in the entrance, there is a kitchen' when the kitchen is actually located in the upper-left section. While the overall transformation is communicated, the lack of precision in summarising key spatial relationships keeps this response at Band 5.5.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The response is divided into four paragraphs, reflecting an attempt to structure the introduction, overview, and body details for both plans. However, logical progression is hindered by awkward transitions and mechanical cohesive devices, such as 'In the last area of the map, there is one more addition of...'. Referencing is sometimes unclear, for instance, 'The before is an outdated version', where the noun is omitted. Paragraphing is used, but internal flow within the paragraphs is choppy and lacks sophisticated linking words, resulting in a Band 5.5 performance for coherence and cohesion.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is relatively basic and repetitive, with several spelling errors ('diiferent', 'iems', 'opposie', 'outdooe') and awkward collocations ('all kids of food', 'hue area'). While the candidate attempts some topic-specific vocabulary related to the map features ('salad bar', 'coffee bar', 'recycling bins', 'outdoor seating'), the range remains limited and inadequate for a higher band. Word choice errors cause occasional strain for the reader, aligning this response with the Band 5 descriptor.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The text displays a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but attempts at complex structures frequently contain grammatical errors or awkward phrasing, such as 'which leads to the addition of more sections in a cafe' and 'the kitchen leading to a huge area where there are different small sections.' Punctuation and capitalization errors are frequent (e.g., lowercase letters at the start of sentences like 'the kitchen leading...'). Grammatical inaccuracies frequently cause difficulty for the reader, supporting a Band 5.0 score.
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