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 plan dipicts the college cafe before and after it was redesigned. Multiple changes have been made and various amenities have been added.
Overall, most of the changes have been made at the outdoor seating and minimal changes inside the cafe. Many rooms inside have been assigned for diffrent purpose than before and furthermore, salad bar has been installed at left side of the cafe. The recycle bin is also replaces with multiple bins to separate various types of waste.
The most highlighting factor is the installment of outdoor seating, students can now enjoy the outdoor view with their food. Enjoying food outdoors is pleasure everyone wants to experience. Furthermore, a Barbecue is installed for the students to enjoy fresh barbeques.
Various changes are made inside the cafe and most highlighting features are salad bar and changing staff dining room to food take away and coffee bar. In addition, the serving area is also chaged to hot meals where students can get freshly cooked got meals and also the multiple bins have been added to separate various types to wastes.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The response covers the main features of the transformation well, noting the addition of outdoor seating, the barbecue, the salad bar, and changes to the interior rooms. An overview is provided in the second paragraph. However, there are some inaccuracies regarding the location of certain features, such as stating that the salad bar is installed at the 'left side' when it is along the western wall, and minor omissions of detail compared to a Band 7+ response. Despite these minor lapses, the main trends and changes are adequately reported, satisfying the criteria for Band 6.0.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The essay has a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and an attempt at an overview. However, paragraphing is somewhat fragmented, with very short paragraphs that could be better grouped. Cohesive devices are used, but transitions like 'furthermore' and 'in addition' feel somewhat mechanical. Referencing is generally clear, though referencing pronouns are occasionally weak. Overall, the logical progression is evident, placing the response solidly in Band 6.0.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The vocabulary is adequate for the task, with attempts to use less common items such as 'redesigned', 'amenities', and 'installment'. However, there are noticeable spelling and word-choice errors, such as 'dipicts' instead of 'depicts', 'diffrent' instead of 'different', 'replaces' instead of 'replaced', and 'chaged' instead of 'changed'. These errors do not impede communication, but they restrict the lexical score to Band 6.0.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The student uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as 'students can now enjoy the outdoor view with their food.' There are several grammatical and mechanical errors throughout the text, including article omissions ('salad bar' instead of 'a salad bar', 'recycle bin is also replaces') and spelling mistakes. While complex structures are attempted, errors in grammar are frequent enough to detract from accuracy, making Band 5.5 a fair reflection of the control demonstrated.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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