Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-30

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 PROVIDED FLOOR PLANS ILLUSTRATE THE LAYOUT OF COLLEGE CAFE PRIOR TO REDESIGN AND OUTLINE THE EXTENSIVE CHANGES MADE TO IT IS CURRENT LAYOUT.

OVERALL THE CAFE HAS UNDERGONE SIGNIFICANT MODERNIZATION .THE MOST NOTABLE CHANGES INCLUDE THE COVERSION OF THE SINGLE SERVING AREA INTO SPECIALIZED FOOD AND DRINKS STATIONS THE REMOVAL OF SATFF DINING ROOMS TO EXPAND CUSTOMER SEATING AND ADDITION OF A BARBECUE AND OUTDOOR SEATING AREA.

PRIOR TO REDESIGN THE CAFE FEATURED A LARGE L SHAPED KTCHEN IN THE TOP LEFT CORNER AND SIBNGLE CENTRAL SERVING AREA FOR ALL FOODS AND DRINKS .THE LEFT SIDE OF THE CAFE WAS PRIMARILY AN OPEN SPACE FOR TABLES AND CHAIRS TODAY,THE KITCHEN NOW INCLUDE ,DEDICATED HOT MEALS SECTION SALAD BAR HAS BEEN ADDED ALONG THE LEFT WALL ,JUST TO THE RIGHT MAIN ENTRANCE THE CENTRAL SERVING AREA HAS BEEN REPLACED BY TWO SPECIALIZED STATION TAKE AWAY FOOD COUNTER AND COOFEE BAR FURTHERMORE THE TWO STAFF DINNING ROOMS HAVE BEEN DEMOLISHEDD TO CREATE MORE SPCAE FOR CUSTOMER TABLES AND CHAIRS WHILE THE CUSTOMER TABLES AND CHAIRS WHILE THE SINGLE BIN ON THE RIGHT WALL HAS BEEN UPGRADED TP RECYCLING BINS.

TRNING THE BOTTOM SCTION OF THE CAFE THE MAIN ENTRANCE IN THE BOTTOM LEFT CORNER REMAINS UNCHANGED .THE TOILETS ARE STILL SITUATED INTHE BOTTOM RIGHT CORNER BUT ,NEW ENTRANCE HAS BEEN ADDED ALONG THE FAR RIGHT WALL. THE MOST STRIKING CHANGES IN THE INTRODUCTION OF BARBECUE THE SIGNIFICANTLY CHANGED THE CAFE OVERALL CAPACITY

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The student successfully identifies and reports the main features of the college cafe before and after the redesign, fulfilling the core requirements of Academic Task 1. An overview is provided at the beginning, noting the modernization, conversion of serving areas, and expansion of seating. Key details such as the addition of the salad bar, coffee bar, takeaway station, outdoor seating, and barbecue area are reported accurately based on the visual data. However, there are minor omissions and slight confusions in spatial descriptions, such as misidentifying the location of entrances. Overall, the response covers all parts of the task well and presents a clear summary of the changes.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response is structured into an introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs detailing the changes, showing a logical overall arrangement. However, the lack of punctuation and capitalization throughout much of the text, combined with missing spacing between sentences (e.g., 'MODERNIZATION .THE MOST'), negatively impacts the visual flow and paragraphing. Cohesive devices are attempted, but referencing and transitions between sentences are sometimes mechanical or abrupt. Paragraph boundaries are not clearly indicated due to formatting issues, resulting in cohesion being occasionally faulty.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for describing spatial changes and architectural modifications, using terms such as 'modernization', 'demolished', 'specialized', and 'upgraded'. However, there are numerous spelling and typographical errors throughout the text, including 'COVERSION' instead of conversion, 'SATFF' instead of staff, 'KTCHEN' instead of kitchen, 'SIBNGLE' instead of single, 'COOFEE' instead of coffee, 'DINNING' instead of dining, 'SPCAE' instead of space, and 'TP' instead of to. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they reflect lower lexical accuracy and prevent the score from reaching a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures to report the comparisons. However, the text suffers from severe punctuation and capitalization issues, including entire sentences written in uppercase without proper periods, commas, or paragraph breaks. There are also grammatical inaccuracies such as 'it is current layout' (its current layout), 'the kitchen now include' (now includes), and missing prepositions ('TRNING THE BOTTOM SCTION' instead of turning to the bottom section). Error frequency is noticeable due to punctuation neglect and structural slips, restricting the grammar score.

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