Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-29

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 diagram illustrates the renovation of a college café from the past to the present.

Overall, the diagram shows the renovation of the college café and the new additions made to the cafeteria. The visuals describe the differences before and after the redesign.

Firstly, when you enter the café where seating is located, tables and chairs are situated there. On the east side, toilets are located, and a bin is situated in front of the toilets. To the north of the door, the staff dining room is located. On the west, a door is located which provides access to the kitchen situated on the northern side of the door, and the serving area for food and beverages is located on the western side of the door.

After the redesign, there are several entry and exit points located in the cafeteria. As you enter the café from the eastern side, the bins and toilets remain in their previous places. The staff dining room has been redesigned into a coffee bar and takeaway food area just adjacent to the coffee shop. The kitchen and serving area remain the same. In front of the kitchen door, a salad bar is located, and adjacent to the toilet is a door that leads to the outdoor seating. In the north, a barbecue stall is located, while the indoor seating area remains in the same place.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response covers the main features of the two diagrams well, noting key changes such as the replacement of the staff dining rooms with a coffee bar and takeaway area, the addition of a salad bar, and the introduction of outdoor seating. However, the overview is somewhat repetitive, merely restating the prompt without synthesizing the broader transformation. Furthermore, there are minor spatial inaccuracies, such as placing the barbecue stall in the 'north' rather than to the south-west. Overall, it addresses the requirements of the task adequately, providing a clear general comparison, but lacks the precision in data reporting required for a higher band.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The text has a coherent overall arrangement and follows a logical progression, moving from an introductory overview to the past layout and finally the present layout. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the different stages of the response. However, cohesion relies heavily on repetitive transitional phrases such as 'located', 'situated', and 'on the east/west', which makes the reading mechanical. Referencing is occasionally unclear, such as the ambiguous use of 'where seating is located' and 'the door', without properly establishing which specific entrance is being referenced.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, successfully conveying basic architectural and spatial transformations using terms like 'renovation', 'cafeteria', 'redesigned', and 'adjacent'. However, the range is somewhat limited, and there is heavy reliance on simple verbs like 'is located' and 'is situated' rather than more precise descriptive verbs. There are also slight lexical inaccuracies, such as referring to the barbecue area as a 'barbecue stall'. Spelling is accurate throughout, but the lack of flexibility and less common lexical items prevents it from reaching a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The writer demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and time markers effectively (e.g., 'The diagram illustrates the renovation of a college café from the past to the present' and 'The staff dining room has been redesigned into a coffee bar...'). Control over basic grammar and punctuation is generally good, and sentences are grammatically sound without major errors impeding communication. However, the structures are somewhat repetitive, often relying on passive constructions or simple subject-verb-complement patterns ('is located'), limiting the range of complex structures displayed.

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

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