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 diagram shows two floor maps of college cafe, that is before and after renovation

there was a requirement for changes in the cafe because due to limited number of seats available for dining inside the cafe ,so in the new cafe design a outdoor seating is structured which would eventually increase customer seating in the cafe and new barbecue is also placed at left side of the cafe

further changes are inside the cafe were the staff dining rooms were converted into take away food section ,where people could just grab their order which can be placed online on their website and just right to it is a coffee bar ,were it provides a variety of coffees

New section salad bar inside the cafe which is located straight forward as we enter the cafe

About the kitchen section there aren't much changes in it just the serving area is now only for hot meals , few more changes we see as the bin had been replaced by a larger on which is located at the entrance of the cafe and beside it is the toilets as it didn't undergo any changes

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses the main features of the task by identifying the key structural changes between the two college café plans, such as the introduction of outdoor seating, a barbecue area, a salad bar, and the conversion of staff dining rooms into a take-away section and coffee bar. However, some parts of the task are handled more fully than others. While the student outlines several specific modifications, the overall overview is somewhat informal and lacks a clear summary statement at the beginning to synthesize the most striking general trends. Furthermore, certain details are slightly imprecise or under-developed, which keeps the response at this intermediate level. To reach a higher standard, the writer should ensure all key changes are presented with a more formal overview of the transformation.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

The organization of the text shows a basic attempt to group information, such as discussing indoor changes followed by outdoor alterations and kitchen updates. However, the overall progression is disrupted by mechanical and faulty cohesion. Sentences tend to run together with inadequate punctuation, and logical transitions between paragraphs are largely missing. For instance, phrases like 'About the kitchen section' and 'further changes are inside' are rather abrupt. Paragraphing is not used effectively to structure the response, as thoughts bleed across the text without clear boundaries. To improve, the writer needs to apply standard paragraphing conventions, use appropriate transitional markers to link ideas logically, and ensure proper sentence boundary punctuation.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student displays an adequate vocabulary to describe the general layout and changes, using relevant terms such as 'renovation', 'take away food section', 'coffee bar', and 'salad bar'. There are, however, noticeable word-choice inaccuracies and awkward phrasing, such as 'structured' instead of 'installed' or 'created', and minor typos like 'were' instead of 'where'. Less common vocabulary is attempted with limited success. The spelling and lexical errors do not seriously impede communication, but they restrict the score. To progress to a higher band, the writer should incorporate a wider and more precise range of lexical items, avoiding repetitive phrasing and ensuring that collocations are used naturally.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but control over grammar and punctuation is inconsistent. There is a frequent lack of proper terminal punctuation and capitalization, leading to long, run-on sentences like the opening statement. Grammatical errors involve missing articles ('a outdoor seating', 'left side'), prepositions, and relative clauses, such as 'a coffee bar, were it provides'. While these errors rarely completely obscure the meaning, they are frequent enough to affect readability. To achieve a higher score, the writer must improve sentence demarcation, pay closer attention to subject-verb agreement, and exercise tighter control over complex grammatical patterns and articles.

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

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