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 show a college cafe before redesigned and how it looks now. And I will mention every details about the plans diagram.
Overall, the cafe design is significantly changed after the redesign. Outdoor seats, hot meals, recycle bin, and interior method of design is used for atractting customer. Entry and exist way and barbecue is managed as per required.
In cafe before redesign, kitchen is at the back side of serving area where all food and drink are available. For entering serving area there is small door and infront of serving area large area was available where customer has enough space for having time. In tables and chairs area staff dining rooms was also mention. Near entry and exist there was small bin and small toilet was available.
After cafe redesign, infront of kitchen hot meals is mention near it's door salad bar is build and space for tables and chairs is same as before. Recycling bins is in large area than before. Near toilet outdoor seating area door is available. And also barbrcue has been developed. This cafe build has upgraded take away food and coffee bar.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0
The response addresses all parts of the task and attempts to present an overview along with main features of the before and after plans. For example, it correctly highlights that the kitchen remains in the upper-left corner while noting new additions like the salad bar and outdoor seating. However, some ideas are under-developed or inadequately supported, and certain details are imprecise or inaccurate, such as stating that 'staff dining rooms was also mention' in the tables and chairs area when they were actually separate rooms along the top wall. Furthermore, the inclusion of meta-commentary like 'And I will mention every details about the plans diagram' detracts from the formal academic tone required for Task 1.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0
The writing demonstrates a coherent overall arrangement with a discernible attempt to structure the response into an introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs describing the before and after layouts. Progression is visible as the student moves logically from the original layout to current changes. However, cohesion is at times mechanical or faulty. Referencing and cohesive links are basic, and paragraphing is underdeveloped, with ideas clumped together rather than clearly separated into distinct analytical paragraphs. To reach a higher level, the student needs to employ a wider and more sophisticated range of cohesive devices and ensure smoother transitions between ideas and sections.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
The student uses an adequate vocabulary range for the task, attempting less common terms such as 'significantly changed', 'redesign', and 'barbecue'. However, there are noticeable limitations and inaccuracies in word choice, word form, and collocation. For instance, words are misspelled or incorrectly formed, such as 'atractting', 'exist', 'recycle', and 'barbrcue'. Expressions like 'interior method of design' and 'space for tables and chairs is same as before' lack natural collocation and precision. These errors are frequent enough to impede communication at times and reflect a limited lexical control that restricts the score to this band.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The response exhibits a mix of simple and some complex sentence forms, but control over grammar is inconsistent. There are frequent errors in verb tense, agreement, and prepositions, such as 'The plans show a college cafe before redesigned' (missing passive structure), 'kitchen is at the back side' (missing articles and prepositions), and subject-verb agreement errors like 'staff dining rooms was also mention' and 'Recycling bins is in large area'. Punctuation is also basic and occasionally faulty. While communication is not entirely obscured, these persistent errors mean that error-free sentences are not frequent enough to achieve a higher band.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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