Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-04
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 plans give information about a college cafe after renovation.
Overall, the outdoor area was introduced for barbeque. The staff dining rooms were replaced by the take away food and coffee bar. The serving area was swapped with Hot meals stand.
The interiors had a decent redesign as new salad bar and recycling bins were added to improve sales. The serving aera which used to have all the food and drinks was changed to only hot meals, so that all the diners could know where to find the hot meals specifically. The staff dining rooms were eradicated in place of which a new take away food and a coffee bar were set up.
The exteriors were totally designed from scratch. Seating arrangements were made alongside the barbeque place for the customers. Two doors were also placed to connect the indoors. One of which was placed right beside the toilet so that it would be easier to access the toilet.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0
The response successfully addresses all parts of the task by reporting the main features and making relevant comparisons between the two plans. The overview outlines the key transformations, such as the introduction of the outdoor seating and barbecue area, and the conversion of staff rooms into a takeaway and coffee bar. However, some areas are under-developed or contain minor inaccuracies; for example, the student mentions that the salad bar and recycling bins were added to 'improve sales,' which introduces speculation not present in the prompt. The selection of features is generally appropriate, capturing structural shifts like the relocation of the serving counter and the addition of exterior doors, but the overall progression of ideas could be more fully extended and supported to reach a higher level.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0
The writing demonstrates a coherent overall arrangement with a clear attempt to structure the response into an introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs. However, cohesion is sometimes faulty or mechanical. For instance, transitional phrases between paragraphs are lacking, and the logical progression stumbles slightly in the third paragraph where the reasoning behind certain changes (such as speculating on why the serving area was changed) disrupts the flow of descriptive information. Referencing and paragraphing are used, but they lack the fluid, sophisticated connections required for higher bands, resulting in a somewhat disjointed feel between the interior and exterior descriptions.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
An adequate range of vocabulary is deployed for the task, allowing the student to describe the physical changes successfully using terms like 'renovation,' 'exteriors,' and 'recycled.' There are attempts to use less common vocabulary, though some inaccuracies occur in word choice and collocation, such as 'eradicated in place of which' and 'Hot meals stand' instead of a hot meals counter. Additionally, there are minor errors like 'serving aera' (spelling slip). These lexical lapses do not impede communication, but they reflect a restricted precision and flexibility that keeps the response at this level.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The text exhibits a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating control over past tenses and passive structures used for describing changes, such as 'were replaced by' and 'were made.' There are some errors in grammar and punctuation, particularly regarding prepositions and modifiers (e.g., 'introduced for barbeque' instead of 'for a barbecue' or 'barbecuing,' and 'totally designed from scratch' where 'redesigned' would be more precise). However, these errors rarely impede communication, and the majority of simple sentences are constructed accurately, even if complex structures occasionally feature minor awkwardness or structural faults.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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