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 diagram shows changes in a college cafe before it was redesigned and how it looks now.
Overall, the cafe before redesigned having a lot of space for sitting and limited options for customers, while after redesigned there were huge space for sitting in both outdoor and indoor and adding a section of new verities of food in cafe.
Before redesigned a staff dinning rooms were located in center of cafe and these rooms were replaced in two sections the take away food and the coffee bar. Moreover, toilets remained in same location and in a kitchen only serving area were replaced by hot meals section. Athough, outside the kitchen areas salaad bar section were added and there were adding a huge number of outdoor sitting for customer who like to sitting outside and enjoyed the weather. Barbecue section were also added in front of outdoor sitting so customer enjoing the live barbecue and the aroma of barbecua attract them for ordering and satisfied there appetite.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5
The response successfully covers all parts of the task by identifying the main features of the college cafe before and after the redesign, and includes relevant comparisons such as the removal of staff dining rooms and the addition of outdoor seating and a barbecue. The overview attempts to capture the general transformation, noting the expansion of seating and food options. However, some parts of the response are slightly under-developed or contain minor inaccuracies in visual interpretation, such as describing the staff dining rooms as being in the 'center' of the cafe when they were located along the top wall. While all key changes are mentioned, extending the commentary on the spatial reorganization would elevate this to a higher level.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The text has a coherent overall arrangement and attempts to organize information logically, moving from an introductory overview to specific spatial changes. Paragraphing is used, though paragraph breaks and transitions are occasionally abrupt or awkward. Cohesive devices are sometimes mechanical or repetitive, such as the frequent use of 'Before redesigned' and 'were added'. Referencing is generally clear, but the flow of information lacks smooth progression due to structural and cohesive limitations, placing it firmly at this level where cohesion is occasionally faulty and referencing is not always seamlessly managed.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, allowing the student to describe common features like 'take away food', 'coffee bar', and 'salad bar'. There are several attempts to use less common vocabulary and phraseology, such as 'aroma of barbecua' and 'satisfied there appetite', but these are accompanied by noticeable errors in word form, spelling ('verities', 'dinning', 'salaad', 'barbecua'), and word choice ('before redesigned having a lot of space'). These lexical slips and inaccuracies do not severely impede communication, but they restrict the range and precision of the response, keeping it at this standard.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The writing demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but control over grammar is inconsistent. There are frequent errors in verb forms, voice, and agreement, such as 'the cafe before redesigned having', 'a staff dinning rooms were located', and 'customer who like to sitting outside and enjoyed the weather'. Prepositions and relative clauses within grammatical patterns also show persistent inaccuracy, such as 'in a kitchen only serving area were replaced'. While some sentences are clear, the accumulation of grammatical errors causes noticeable difficulty for the reader at times, characteristic of this level of grammatical control.
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