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 maps represents a educational canteen after it has been redesigned to it`s new look.
Overall, the outer seating has been introduced after redesigning the cafe with the barbecue section just side to it . The major changes include the hot meals, take away options, large bins and a new salad bar.
The kitchen section is same as before while now the hot meals are being served to the students. The staff dining rooms are removed and the take away foods are placed on the one half while the coffee bar on the other half. The tables and chairs remain unchanged. The new counter for salad bar is now available in the left side to the tables and chairs.
Further more, the large recycling bins are introduced replacing the old small bins. The toilets are left as it was in the same position as before. Right beside the toilet, the door is added to enter in the new outside seating area. The outdoor seating space is spacious as many students can eat their food at once. The barbecue is now placed to the bottom left corner which can also be entered through the salad bar area.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0
The response covers the main features of the two maps well, successfully identifying key changes such as the introduction of outdoor seating, a barbecue area, a salad bar, and the replacement of staff dining rooms with a takeaway counter and coffee bar. An overview is provided in the second paragraph, capturing the most significant transformations. However, there are minor inaccuracies in spatial details, such as stating that the salad bar is 'in the left side' when it is actually along the western wall, and minor omissions regarding some layout features. Overall, the information is accurately summarised and supports a clear comparison between the past and present layouts.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The essay is organized into four paragraphs, moving from an introductory overview to specific details about the kitchen, indoor areas, and newly added outdoor spaces. Logical progression is generally maintained throughout the text. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Overall', 'Further more', and 'Right beside', though some linking is slightly mechanical. Paragraphing is adequate, with each paragraph focusing on a distinct aspect of the visual data. Referencing is mostly clear, though occasional minor phrasing choices make the connection between sentences slightly abrupt.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for describing a map transformation, using terms such as 'redesigned', 'major changes', 'unchanged', and 'spacious'. However, there are noticeable lexical and collocation errors, such as 'outer seating' instead of 'outdoor seating', 'to its new look', and 'just side to it'. Less common vocabulary is attempted with limited precision, and minor spelling or word-choice inaccuracies occur, but these do not impede overall communication.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The writing contains a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating attempts at varied structures such as 'The maps represents a educational canteen after it has been redesigned...'. There are several grammatical errors and awkward phrasing, including subject-verb agreement issues ('The maps represents'), incorrect prepositions ('in the left side', 'entered through'), and punctuation errors like extra spaces and misused apostrophes ('it`s'). While these errors are frequent, they rarely impede the reader's ability to understand the intended meaning.
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