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)

These two layouts show a college cafe looks before and after the renovation.

Overall, whats stands out from these maps is that outdoor sitting and barbeque setup and others usefull facilities has been built to modernized cafe.

If we look at the details, cafe before design only had a kitchen, serving area, staff dinning rooms, bins, toilets and tables and chairs. But after the renovation the serving area are convert into the hot meals section opposite of the kitchen. Another noticeable change is that staff dining rooms were switched into the takeaway and coffee bar rooms. The size of bin was extended along with the toilets. One interesting change was the sealed bar had been built infront of the kitchen and hot meals room.

The outdoor sitting has been launched in the renovation to make the cafe modernized and also live barbecue setup was made besides of the seating area.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The student covers most of the key features of the changes shown in the two maps, such as the addition of the outdoor seating, the barbecue, the salad bar, and the transformation of the staff dining rooms into a takeaway and coffee bar. An overview is attempted in the second paragraph, mentioning the general trend of modernization and added facilities. However, there are some inaccuracies and omissions regarding the visual data; for instance, the student states that the 'size of bin was extended', whereas the plan shows 'Recycling bins' replacing the single bin, and refers to the 'sealed bar' instead of the salad bar. Overall, the response addresses the prompt reasonably well, earning a Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response is arranged into four paragraphs, including a brief introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs detailing the changes. There is a basic logical progression from general to specific comparisons. However, cohesive devices are somewhat mechanical or limited (e.g., 'If we look at the details', 'Another noticeable change'), and referencing is occasionally unclear or awkward. Paragraphing is used, but the overall structural flow could be smoother and more cohesive to reach a higher band. This performance aligns with the Band 6.0 descriptor.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, with attempts to use less common items such as 'renovation', 'modernized', and 'barbecue setup'. However, there are several noticeable lexical errors and inaccurate word choices, such as writing 'cafe before design' instead of 'before redesign', 'sealed bar' instead of 'salad bar', 'outdoor sitting' instead of 'seating', and 'dinning' instead of 'dining'. These vocabulary errors and typos occasionally cause slight confusion for the reader, fitting the Band 5.5 profile.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as conditional-style framing ('If we look at the details') and relative clauses. However, there are frequent grammatical errors and awkward phrasing throughout, including 'whats stands out' (spelling/agreement), 'usefull facilities has been built to modernized cafe' (missing articles and preposition errors), and 'the serving area are convert into' (subject-verb agreement and voice errors). While meaning is generally conveyed, these persistent errors prevent the text from reaching a Band 6.0, placing it securely at Band 5.0.

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

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