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 it was redesigned had a lot of space for sitting and limited options for customers, while after it was redesigned there were a huge space for sitting both outdoors and indoors and added a section of new varieties of food in the cafe.

Before it was redesigned, staff dinning rooms was located in the center of cafe and these rooms were replaced by two sections the takeaway food and the coffee bar. Moreover, toilets remained in the same location and in the kitchen, only serving area was replaced by the hot meals section. Although, outside the kitchen, a salaad bar section was added and there was added a huge amount of outdoor sitting for customers who like sitting outside and enjoy the weather. Barbecue sections was also added front of outdoor sitting so customers enjoing live barbecue and the aroma of barbecue attracts them for ordering and satisfy their appetite

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the task by reporting the main features and making comparisons between the two plans. You provide an overview and cover major changes such as the replacement of the staff dining rooms with a takeaway food and coffee bar section, the addition of the salad bar, outdoor seating, and the barbecue area. However, some parts of your response are somewhat underdeveloped or lack precision. For example, stating that the staff dining rooms were located in the center of the cafe is inaccurate, as they were actually positioned along the top wall. To move to a higher band, ensure that all spatial relationships are reported with complete accuracy and that every selected feature is fully supported with precise details.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response maintains a coherent overall arrangement with a clear division between the introduction, overview, and body paragraphs detailing the specific transformations. You attempt to use cohesive devices such as "Overall", "Before it was redesigned", and "Moreover" to guide the reader through the comparison. However, the progression becomes a little mechanical and run-on in places, particularly in the final sentence where multiple clauses are strung together without adequate punctuation or smooth transitions. Referencing is generally clear, but paragraphing could be structured more effectively to separate indoor alterations from outdoor additions. To improve in this area, work on using a wider variety of cohesive ties more naturally and break down overly long, complex sentences into logically sequenced units.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is generally adequate for the task, allowing you to successfully describe the physical changes in the cafe layout. You attempt some less common vocabulary items such as "redesigned", "varieties", and "appetite". However, there are noticeable word choice and collocation inaccuracies throughout the text, such as writing "staff dinning rooms" (spelling), "a huge space" (countable/uncountable confusion), and "salaad bar" (spelling). Additionally, phrasing like "enjoing live barbecue" contains morphological errors. These lexical slips do not heavily impede communication, but they restrict the score. To achieve a higher band, focus on precise word formation, correct spelling, and natural collocations when describing visual data.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, attempting relative clauses and passive structures such as "these rooms were replaced by two sections" and "a salad bar section was added". There are, however, some errors in grammar and punctuation, particularly missing articles ("staff dinning rooms was located", "in the kitchen, only serving area was replaced") and issues with subject-verb agreement or tense consistency, such as "Barbecue sections was also added front of outdoor sitting". Punctuation is also weak towards the end of the text, resulting in run-on sentences that lack proper terminal punctuation. To reach a higher level, you need to exercise greater control over grammatical agreements, article usage, and ensure that complex sentences are punctuated accurately.

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

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