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 diagrams illustrates the changes made to layout of college cafe after and before it redesign.

Looking at the details, many changes are done in cafe. To begin with, Staff dining rooms are transformed into two different parts such as take away food and coffee bar. No change has been done in kitchen as it is on it's place. An other change is that Serving area has been replaced with Hot meals to facilitate the students. Providing one more service, a Salad bar is added on the left side now.

On the other hand, area of bins is transformed and expanded into recycling bins. Recycling material can be throw in recycling bins. Furthermore, One of the major change is made that a Barbecue area is added at bottom and some cahairs and tables are placed for outdoor seating.

At present, there are many facilities for pupil and other college staff as compared to before redesign. Now people can enjoy a lot.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the task by reporting the main features and outlining the significant transformations between the two plans of the college cafe. The overview and key details, such as the conversion of the staff dining rooms into a take-away food area and coffee bar, the addition of a salad bar, and the introduction of outdoor seating with a barbecue, are correctly identified. However, some aspects are under-developed or lack precision. For instance, the general statement at the end that people can 'enjoy a lot' is overly simplistic and relies on personal interpretation rather than objective reporting of the visual data. To reach a higher level, the response should provide a clearer, more comprehensive overview at the beginning and extend the descriptions of spatial relationships and structural modifications more fully.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The text maintains a coherent overall arrangement with a recognisable beginning, middle, and end, making the progression of information relatively easy to follow. Paragraphing is utilised to separate the introduction from the body details and the concluding remark. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical or faulty. Transition markers like 'Looking at the details', 'To begin with', and 'On the other hand' are used, but referencing and logical flow can be disjointed, such as the abrupt transition between discussing indoor changes and the outdoor barbecue area. To achieve higher bands, the writer needs to employ a wider and more flexible range of cohesive devices and ensure that referencing between sentences is smoother and less repetitive.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common items related to the visual data, such as 'transformed', 'expanded', 'facilities', and 'redesign'. However, there are noticeable vocabulary and spelling errors, including 'cahairs' instead of chairs, and awkward collocations or word choices like 'Recycling material can be throw in recycling bins' instead of thrown. While these lexical errors do not seriously impede overall communication, they restrict the response to a modest level. To improve, the writer should focus on word form precision, correct spelling, and more natural collocations when describing spatial changes.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The writing demonstrates a mix of simple and some complex sentence forms, but control over grammar and punctuation is inconsistent. There are several structural errors and inappropriate prepositions or articles throughout the text, such as 'The diagrams illustrates' instead of diagram illustrates, 'layout of college cafe' missing an article, 'after and before it redesign' instead of its redesign, and 'No change has been done in kitchen as it is on it's place'. Furthermore, the phrase 'One of the major change is made' contains a plural agreement error. These frequent minor errors and occasional awkward phrasing mean the grammatical structures are not yet handled with full accuracy, placing this criterion at a lower band level.

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

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