Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-01

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 below showd the before and after design of acollege cafe. After redesigning cafe became more organized. Kitchen was reserved for hot meals, and staffs dining area was converted into take away food and the coffee bar. Moreover, earlier the bin was across th sitting area. Now this has been replaced by recycling bins. Another important addition that has been introduced is the salad bar and outdoor seating was introduced along with Barbecue.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses the task only partially and falls well below the minimum length requirement of 150 words, totaling only 74 words. While the student attempts to summarise the main features of the before and after plans—such as mentioning the kitchen being reserved for hot meals, the conversion of staff dining rooms, and the addition of the salad bar, outdoor seating, and barbecue—the coverage is very brief and underdeveloped. Key information is omitted, and the lack of an overarching summary or thorough comparison prevents the response from achieving a higher band. To improve, you must write at least 150 words and provide a well-developed overview comparing all major changes between the two plans.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

There is some basic organization in the response, but it lacks a clear overall progression. The writing is presented as a single short block without proper paragraphing, and cohesive devices are inadequate or mechanical, relying on simple connectors like 'Moreover' and 'Now'. References are sometimes unclear, and the ideas jump between different areas of the café without a logical flow. To improve cohesion, you should structure your essay into distinct paragraphs—an introduction with an overview, followed by body paragraphs grouping related changes logically—and use a wider, more natural variety of cohesive devices to link your sentences and ideas smoothly.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is limited but minimally adequate for the task. The student attempts some task-specific vocabulary such as 'redesigning', 'converted', and 'recycling bins', but there are noticeable errors in word choice and form, such as writing 'acollege' as one word and 'staffs dining area' instead of 'staff dining area'. The range of vocabulary is restricted, and repetition is evident. To elevate your lexical resource, you should aim to use a wider variety of precise, less common vocabulary and synonyms to describe changes, such as 'transformed', 'relocated', or 'dramatically altered', while ensuring accurate word forms and correct spellings.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response displays a very limited range of sentence structures, relying mostly on simple sentences with frequent structural errors. There are missing articles and punctuation issues throughout, such as 'The plan below showd' (which contains both a tense/spelling error and a missing article) and 'across th sitting area' (spelling and article omission). Attempts at more complex structures are largely absent due to the brief nature of the text, and frequent grammatical inaccuracies cause some difficulty for the reader. To improve, you need to incorporate a mix of complex sentence forms, ensure accurate verb tenses, and pay careful attention to articles, prepositions, and punctuation.

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

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