Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-02

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 two maps showcases a difference of the past and present condition of the cafe of college and after constracted for student.Overall it can be observed at a glance that there is only few facilities are avilable earlier, now, has seen sevreral remarkable development related to the seating and eating across the cafe.

In the first map, There is only kitchen and serving area and also sapreate dining room for staff. there is small bin for waste and the other hall is full with table and chairs.

Moving on second map, The kitchen, table and chairs and toilet is similer to first map. Serving area is replace with the hot meals and the area for staff is converted into take away sevise and also use for coffe bar. The size of recycling been is increase and also we can seen a slad baar oposite to the bin. and the impotatnt thing is that is now outdoor seating is avilableWITH

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the task by covering the main features of the college cafe before and after the redesign, and includes relevant comparisons such as the changes to the serving area and staff dining rooms. However, some areas are under-developed or lack full clarity, such as the description of the new outdoor facilities and the barbecue area. While an overview is attempted at the beginning, it is somewhat vague. To reach a higher band, the response would need to provide a more fully extended and precise summary of the spatial transformations without missing key details.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The text demonstrates a coherent overall arrangement with a clear attempt to structure the information chronologically, moving from the past map to the present map. Paragraphing is used to separate the introduction, the first map, and the second map. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical or faulty, with abrupt transitions and occasional referencing issues, such as 'Moving on second map'. The logical progression is maintained overall, but cohesive devices are not always used flexibly or accurately. Better signposting and smoother linking phrases would elevate the organizational quality.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, allowing the writer to communicate basic descriptions of rooms and features, such as 'kitchen', 'serving area', and 'tables and chairs'. There are several attempts to use less common vocabulary like 'remarkable development' and 'recycling been', but these are accompanied by frequent word choice, spelling, and word form errors, such as 'constracted', 'sapreate', 'sevise', 'slad baar', and 'opotisite'. These lexical slips and inaccuracies restrict the range and occasionally draw attention, placing this aspect at the lower intermediate level.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

The response employs a mix of simple and some attempted complex sentence forms, but control over grammar is weak. There are frequent non-impeding errors in article usage, subject-verb agreement, verb forms, and prepositions, such as 'The provided two maps showcases', 'there is only few facilities are avilable', and 'Serving area is replace'. Punctuation is also problematic, including run-on sentences and erratic capitalization ('WITH' at the end). These frequent grammatical errors and limited structural control mean that error-free sentences are the exception rather than the rule.

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

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