Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-06
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 map illustrates some modifications made to the college cafe.Some majors changes and modifications have been made and the map below shows comparison between the college cafe before it was redesigned and how it looks today.
Looking at the both maps,the capacity of the seating area have been improved and additional outdoor seating have been introduced in today's cafe.Moreover an additional barbecue and salad corner have been introduced as well.In contrast to addtional corners,the staff dining rooms have also been modified to coffee bar and take away food corners.
The kitchen reamined at the top left corner and so is the toilet in the bottom right corner of the map.With the additional food corners such as salad bar and barbecue,today's college cafe shows major modifications.Also with the addition of outdoor seating,the seating capacity has also increased.Previous cafe did'nt have a coffee bar too.Therefore,with these many modifications,today's college cafe is upgraded.Moreover along with other upgradations,the single bin on the right wall has also been upgraded to recycling bins.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0
The response addresses the main features of the two diagrams by noting key transformations such as the removal of staff dining rooms, the addition of outdoor seating, a barbecue, and a salad bar, as well as the updating of bins and food counters. However, some parts of the task are developed less fully than others. The overview contains repetitive phrasing ('The map illustrates some modifications... Some majors changes and modifications have been made'), and certain descriptions lack precision or depth, such as failing to fully capture the spatial arrangement of the newly introduced elements. While a general comparison is established, extending the explanation of how specific zones expanded or shifted would enhance the response. Note that 10 words were copied directly from the task prompt and are excluded from the official word count.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0
The response shows a coherent overall arrangement with a clear intent to compare the past and present layouts of the college cafe. However, the organisation suffers from noticeable flaws and repetitive referencing. Cohesive devices are sometimes mechanical or overused, particularly transitional adverbs like 'moreover' and 'also', which appear multiple times in close proximity and disrupt the natural flow of ideas. Paragraphing is attempted, but the grouping of ideas lacks a clear, progressive structure, causing the progression to feel disjointed in places. Pronoun referencing and substitution are occasionally repetitive, requiring the reader to work harder to follow the spatial relationships between the various features of the cafe.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, demonstrating an attempt to discuss spatial changes and renovations with words such as 'modifications', 'upgraded', 'redesigned', and 'redevelopment'. However, there are notable limitations and inaccuracies in word choice and spelling, such as 'majors changes', 'addtional', 'reamined', and 'upgradations' (which is non-standard). Less common vocabulary is attempted with mixed success, and occasional errors in collocation slightly detract from the precision of the descriptions. While communication is not severely hindered, the range of vocabulary remains somewhat restricted and repetitive, preventing the response from achieving a higher level of lexical flexibility and sophistication.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The response exhibits a mix of simple and some complex sentence forms, demonstrating basic control over sentence construction. However, there are frequent errors in punctuation (such as missing spaces after commas, e.g., 'cafe.Some', 'maps,the'), subject-verb agreement ('the capacity of the seating area have been improved'), and article usage. Additionally, there are awkward phrasing patterns and minor structural lapses, such as 'Previous cafe did'nt have a coffee bar too'. While these errors rarely impede overall communication, they persist throughout the text and demonstrate a limited range of error-free complex structures, keeping the grammar firmly at this level.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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