Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-05

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 maps illustrate Changes made to a college cafe before and after its redesiged.

Overall, College cafe underwent significant changes, with several new food and seating facilities being added. Serving area is replaced by Hot meals.whereas, staff dining rooms is replaced by a take away food and Coffee bar. Meanwhile, a salad bar, a barbecue area with Outdoor seating were introduced.The kitchen and toilet remained in the cafe

Looking first at the indoor area Kitchen remains in the same position although the Serving area is replaced by Hot meals.meanwhile, the staff dining rooms is removed and replaced by take away food and Coffee bar.On the Other hand, the central section remained unchanged.

Bin, meanwhile is expanded to Recycling bins. salad bar is introduced inside the Tables and Chairs section. The Barbeque and outdoor seating , is developed in the outdoor area.Toilets, on the other hand are in the same position.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response addresses all parts of the task by reporting the main changes between the two plans, successfully identifying key alterations such as the conversion of the serving area into hot meals and the addition of the salad bar, barbecue, and outdoor seating. The overview is clear and outlines the general transformation of the space. However, some areas lack full development and precision, such as the incomplete description of the recycling bins and the minor omission of specific layout relationships. The details are generally relevant and grounded in the visual data, sitting comfortably within the expected standard for this level, though extending the comparisons between the two plans further would elevate the response.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The text exhibits a coherent overall arrangement with a clear attempt to structure the information through paragraphing, separating the introduction, overview, and specific spatial details. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical and faulty due to poor referencing, abrupt transitions, and unconventional sentence bundling. For instance, the use of linking expressions like 'meanwhile,', 'On the Other hand,', and 'on the other hand' is occasionally misused or repetitive. Paragraphing is present but visually fragmented with short, disjointed sentences that hinder a smooth logical progression. Improving the flow between sentences and refining cohesive devices would significantly enhance the readability of the response.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, allowing the writer to describe basic features of the maps such as 'kitchen', 'serving area', 'salad bar', and 'outdoor seating'. There are attempts to use less common items and specific terminology from the prompt, but this is accompanied by noticeable inaccuracies in word choice, form, and collocation, such as 'redesiged' instead of 'redesigned' and awkward phrasing like 'staff dining rooms is replaced'. Spelling and word-choice errors occur, though they rarely impede overall communication. To reach a higher band, the writer needs to demonstrate greater precision in word forms and incorporate a wider, more natural range of academic vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response features a limited mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but control over grammar and punctuation is inconsistent. There are frequent errors in subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'staff dining rooms is replaced', 'Toilets, on the other hand are'), missing articles (e.g., 'Kitchen remains', 'Bin, meanwhile is expanded'), and poor punctuation including erratic capitalization and comma splices. While simple sentences are generally understandable, attempts at complex or passive structures often introduce grammatical errors that require the reader to slow down. Enhancing control over basic agreement, articles, and punctuation is necessary to improve the grammatical score.

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

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