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 two maps illustrate how college cafe was redesigned and what it looked like in the past and present.

Overall, there have been significant changes to infrastructure, facilities and furniture over the given period. The cafe increased in size over the years.

Before, the cafe was redesigned and the serving area with all food and drinks available. The two rooms for staff dining were built in the center. Meanwhile, bin was located to the southwest corner. The area for tables and chairs had been expanded. The toilets had been constructed at the end of the building nearest the bin.

At present, serving areas have been replaced by hot meals. In the kitchen has been not change seen. The dining room area has been converted into a takeaway food and coffee bar. A salad bar has been added to the area of tables and chairs. Recycling bins have been increased in capacity. A barbecue area and outdoor seating have been set up outside of the building.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses the main parts of the task by comparing the layout of the college cafe before and after the redesign, but some features are under-developed or inaccurately described. For instance, the student states that the cafe 'increased in size over the years', which is an assumption not supported by the plans. Key changes, such as the addition of the outdoor seating and barbecue area, are noted, but the descriptions of interior modifications lack precision. To move to a higher band, all details should be reported accurately without extraneous assumptions, and the relationship between the old and new areas should be presented with greater clarity and depth.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The text shows an overall coherent arrangement and attempts to group information into logical paragraphs, separating the introduction, general trends, past layout, and current layout. However, progression is sometimes hindered by mechanical transitions and occasional referencing issues. For example, sentences such as 'Before, the cafe was redesigned and the serving area with all food and drinks available' lack clear logical links and disrupt the flow of information. To achieve a higher band, cohesive devices should be used more naturally to connect ideas smoothly and guide the reader seamlessly through the comparison.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, allowing the student to communicate basic information about the changes. There are attempts to use less common vocabulary, such as 'infrastructure', 'converted', and 'capacity', though some word choices and collocations are awkward or inaccurate, such as 'serving areas have been replaced by hot meals' instead of counters serving hot meals. Spelling is generally accurate, but occasional lexical inaccuracies prevent the writing from reaching a higher level. To improve, the student should focus on precise word choice and natural collocations relevant to diagram descriptions.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The writing contains a limited range of structures, relying heavily on simple sentences alongside a few attempts at complex forms that often contain errors. Frequent grammatical errors are present, including issues with passive voice and prepositional phrases, such as 'In the kitchen has been not change seen' and 'bin was located to the southwest corner'. These errors can cause some difficulty for the reader and reflect a lack of control over grammatical structures. To progress, the student needs to develop greater accuracy in verb tenses, word order, and basic sentence construction.

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

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