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 maps illustrates the develpment that took place in a college cafe.
overall, the college Cafe undergo from several developments except kitchen section while, Additional outdoor seatings are added to the Cafe.
To begin with, in past, there were two Staff dinning rooms nearly centre in the cafe, but the Staff dinning rooms are replaced by take away food and coffee bar. Bins are now converted in recycling bins which is at East side in the cafe building. Kitchen and toilets are remained unchanged at its original plate but serving area for all food and drinks are now converted into Hot meals section.
Turning to newly added facilities, in the cafe, Salad bar is recently introduced at west side in the cafe while, barbecue and outdoor seating are added at outside of the cafe in south side of the cafe. Table and chairs remained unchanged in the centre of cafe.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0
The response addresses all parts of the task by reporting the main features and making relevant comparisons between the two plans. The overall trend and key changes—such as the conversion of the staff dining rooms into a take away food section and coffee bar, and the addition of outdoor seating and a barbecue—are successfully identified. However, some ideas remain slightly under-developed or lack full clarity regarding precise spatial relationships, which prevents a higher rating. For instance, stating that 'Bins are now converted in recycling bins which is at East side' captures the shift, but the description of overall layout changes could be extended and integrated more smoothly into a comprehensive summary.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0
The text demonstrates a coherent overall arrangement with a clear paragraph structure separating the introduction, an overview, and the body details. Logical transitions are attempted using cohesive phrases such as 'To begin with' and 'Turning to newly added facilities'. However, the flow is sometimes hindered by mechanical linking or slightly awkward referencing, such as the repetitious use of 'in the cafe'. Paragraphing is used sufficiently to structure the information, but the progression of ideas would benefit from more varied and natural cohesive devices to ensure seamless readability throughout the report.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
An adequate range of vocabulary is deployed to describe the visual data, including terms like 'redesigned', 'facilities', and 'unchanged'. The writer attempts some less common vocabulary related to the task, such as 'conversion', 'introduced', and 'recycling bins'. Nevertheless, there are notable lexical shortcomings, including spelling errors like 'develpment' and word-choice inaccuracies such as 'undergo from' instead of 'underwent'. These errors are noticeable but do not seriously impede communication, allowing the reader to grasp the main points of the visual data without significant difficulty.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The response displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, attempting structures like 'while, barbecue and outdoor seating are added'. There are several grammatical errors in verb tenses, voice, and prepositions, such as 'The maps illustrates' (subject-verb agreement), 'cafe Cafe undergo from' (tense and preposition error), 'Staff dinning rooms are replaced' (passive voice inconsistency), and 'at its original plate' (preposition/noun collocation error). Punctuation and article usage also show frequent slips. While these errors rarely impede overall communication, they reflect a limited control of grammatical accuracy and sentence patterns.
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