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 plans below show a public educational institute's cafe before it was upgraded and after the addition of new designs.
Overall, the cafe shifted from staff to customer oriented focus. Although some remain unchanged, there are plenty of things those are demolished.
Looking at the details, before the redesign, there was a serving area in the kitchen with all food and drink in the north west of the cafe. Besides, two separated staff dining rooms were available in the middle of the cafe. Tables and chairs, toilets and bins were at the far side of the dining room taking most of the part of the cafe.
Currently, the kitchen, tables and chairs, and toilets are at the same position as before. Besides, many area are replaced with new ideas such as a serving area, bin and staff dining rooms with a hot meals, recycling bins, take away food and coffee bar repectively. Furthermore, plenty of advanced thought applied by creating salad bar at the western area, a barbecue section at outdoors as well as outdoor seating arrangements.
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 response attempts to address the task by highlighting the main changes between the two plans, such as the shift from staff dining rooms to a take-away food and coffee bar, and the addition of outdoor seating and a barbecue. An overview is attempted, noting the shift toward a customer-oriented focus. However, the development is somewhat limited, and there are inaccuracies in spatial reporting; for instance, the text claims the kitchen is in the north-west when it is in the upper-left, and states that 'bins' were at the far side of the dining room when a single bin was located on the eastern wall. Despite these minor lapses, the main features are sufficiently reported to meet the requirements of Band 6.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The essay is divided into logical paragraphs, beginning with an introduction, moving to an overview, and then splitting the details between the original and redesigned plans. Cohesive devices are used to signal progression, such as 'Overall', 'Looking at the details', and 'Currently'. However, referencing and cohesion are at times awkward or mechanical, such as 'plenty of things those are demolished' and 'many area are replaced'. Paragraphing is present and appropriate, but the overall logical flow suffers slightly from repetitive sentence beginnings and awkward transitions between ideas, placing it securely in Band 6.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, attempting some less common lexical items such as 'redesigned', 'demolished', 'repectively' (misspelled), and 'arrangements'. However, there are noticeable word choice and collocation errors, such as 'public educational institute's cafe' (the prompt simply states a 'college cafe'), 'staff to customer oriented focus', and 'plenty of advanced thought applied'. Spelling and word-form errors, including 'repectively' and 'area are replaced', indicate a limited control of lexical features, which prevents the score from reaching Band 6. Thus, a Band 5.5 is appropriate.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The student uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, attempting structures with subordinate clauses like 'Although some remain unchanged, there are plenty of things those are demolished.' However, grammatical accuracy is inconsistent. There are several noticeable errors, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('many area are replaced'), incorrect relative pronouns ('things those are demolished'), and prepositions ('at the western area', 'at outdoors'). While these errors do not completely obscure the meaning, their frequency across the short text means that error-free sentences are not in the majority, aligning the response with Band 5.5.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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