Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-03
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 given plan gives us information about the collage cafe. It took place before and after the redesign.
A cursory glance at the cafe before redesign shows that the two adjacent staff dining rooms were in the north. The kitchen and serving area were in the noeth-west. The tables and chairs were the source of attraction. The bin was in the direction east and and the toilets were in the south-east. There was one entrance from the north-east.
By looking at the cafe's today plan, it can be seen that the serving area, staff dining rooms and bin were replaced by hot meals, Take away food, coffee bar and recycling bins respectivily. In addition, the salad bar was installed inside the cafe. Moreover, the barbecue and outdoor seating is added outside the cafe. The entrance, toilets and kitchen remained same. In addition, there are two more gates are installed, entrance for the outdoor seating in the south-east direction and for entrance to the outdoor seating in the south-west direction.
After analysing the plan of collage cafe, it has positive develpoment.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The response addresses the main parts of the task by describing the general layout of the college cafe before and after the redesign, and includes some comparisons such as mentioning that the kitchen, toilets, and main entrance remained the same while other areas were replaced or added. However, the coverage remains limited and partially under-developed. For example, while the writer mentions the new salad bar and outdoor seating, details regarding the spatial rearrangement and exact positioning of features like the coffee bar and take away food areas lack clarity. Furthermore, the concluding sentence offers a personal opinion rather than a clear summary of the overall transformation, which prevents the response from achieving a higher level of development.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0
The text demonstrates a coherent overall arrangement with a discernible introduction, body paragraphs detailing the before-and-after states, and a brief concluding remark. Paragraphing is used to separate the different sections of the prompt. However, cohesion is at times mechanical or faulty. For instance, transitional phrases like 'By looking at the cafe's today plan' feel slightly awkward, and referencing can be repetitive, relying heavily on basic linkers such as 'In addition' to connect successive sentences. Logical progression from one feature to the next is present, but the cohesive devices lack the flexibility and smooth flow required for higher bands.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
The student uses an adequate vocabulary range to accomplish the basic communicative requirements of the task, employing terms such as 'redesign', 'adjacent', and 'installed'. However, there are noticeable lexical shortcomings, including spelling errors like 'collage' instead of 'college', 'noeth-west' instead of 'north-west', 'respectivily' instead of 'respectively', and 'develpoment' instead of 'development'. Word choices are sometimes basic or imprecise, such as referring to tables and chairs as 'the source of attraction', and attempts to use less common vocabulary are hindered by these frequent inaccuracies in word form and spelling.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The writing displays a mix of simple and some complex sentence forms, such as 'It took place before and after the redesign' and 'By looking at the cafe's today plan, it can be seen that...'. There are, however, frequent errors in grammar and punctuation that catch the reader's attention, including preposition and article usage issues like 'in the direction east' and 'the cafe's today plan'. Additionally, sentence structures occasionally become awkward or repetitive, such as 'for entrance to the outdoor seating in the south-west direction', reflecting a limited and frequently inaccurate command of complex patterns.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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