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 diagrams illustrate the current design of a college café and the proposed changes that will transform it into a more modern and functional café.

Overall, the cafe before renovation was looks like an army mess, It has only one entrance and exit gate. In front of the entrance there was two staff dining rooms consist of 6 chairs and one table in each, and on the left side of entrance a bin was placed for wastage. Rest of all the area of hall are occupied with the tables and chairs for students used for group discussion while having their lunch during lecture breaks. Kitchen and serving area was situated on the northwest side of the cafeteria hall. However, the toilets was in southeast corner of the hall.

Moreover, The major change was in renovated cafe design was, staff dinning rooms are replaced with food take away, and coffee bar. In addition, salad bar was made in front of the entrance of kitchen, and serving area was replaced with hot meals cart.

Furthermore, outdoor barbecue area was made with five tables on different location outside the cafe in open air alonmg with the seating capacity of four to six students.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses the main parts of the task by outlining some key features of the college cafe before and after the redesign. However, the information is presented with notable limitations. For instance, the introduction incorrectly frames the plans by stating they illustrate the 'current design' and 'proposed changes', misinterpreting the visual data where one plan clearly represents the past layout ('Cafe before redesign'). Additionally, some details are slightly inaccurate or under-developed, such as describing the previous staff dining rooms as having six chairs when the plan shows four chairs per table, and misinterpreting the exact positioning of the new outdoor barbecue and seating areas. While the overall format is attempted, the limited and sometimes inaccurate selection of features keeps the task response at this level.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has an overall coherent arrangement and attempts to organise the content into an introduction, a past description, and present descriptions. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical and faulty. For example, transitional phrases like 'Moreover' and 'Furthermore' are used, but referencing and logical progression between sentences occasionally falter, such as the sudden shift into the outdoor area details without smooth linking. Paragraphing is present to separate the before and after states, but the internal flow within paragraphs lacks seamless cohesive ties. To move to a higher band, the writer needs to ensure that cohesive devices connect ideas more naturally and that the progression of information follows a clearer, logical sequence from the overall layout to specific details.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, but the range is limited and contains noticeable errors in word choice, collocation, and word formation. Examples include 'army mess', 'entrance and exit gate', and 'wastage' instead of waste or a bin. Furthermore, there are awkward phrasings such as 'food take away' and 'hot meals cart'. While the reader can understand the general meaning, these lexical inaccuracies and the repetition of basic descriptive terms prevent the response from achieving a higher score. To improve, the writer should incorporate a wider variety of precise academic vocabulary suited for describing spatial changes, such as 'replaced by', 'converted into', or 'relocated', while paying closer attention to standard collocations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The writing displays a very limited range of sentence structures, relying mostly on simple sentences alongside a few faulty attempts at complex clauses. There are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text, including tense inconsistencies (e.g., 'the cafe before renovation was looks like'), subject-verb agreement issues (e.g., 'the toilets was'), incorrect article usage (e.g., 'on the left side of entrance'), and preposition errors (e.g., 'on different location'). Punctuation errors also occur, such as comma splices ('army mess, It has only one'). These frequent errors cause some difficulty for the reader and restrict the grammar score. To improve, the writer must focus on mastering basic sentence structures, ensuring consistent past and present tenses, and eliminating frequent agreement and article errors.

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

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