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 two plan illustrates a college cafe before it was redesigned and how it looks now. few changes were done in college after construction.

Overall, there are two main changes in food and drinks after redesign and some facilities are also added. Tables and chairs are placed same after redesigned.

The first noticable change is of staff dining rooms after redesigned which are replaced by two sections for coffee and take away food. However the location of servicing area is replaced by hot meals. Before, there are the normal dustbins which are promoted to recycling bins. Moreover, the position of tables and chairs had remained same. Additionally kitchen and toilets are on the same place.

There are many new things included, where salar bar are added in west of tables and chairs. Although, barbeue is also attached outside at south-west. New outdoor seating arrangement in certain pattern is done after redesigned where tables and chairs are available for students and teachers.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify several important changes, including the replacement of the staff dining rooms with takeaway and coffee areas, the new salad bar, and the outdoor seating and barbecue. You also note that the kitchen, toilets and central tables remain in place. However, the overview is broad, and some details are unclear or inaccurate: the serving area becomes a hot-meals counter, rather than its location being replaced, and the new southern doors are not mentioned. The description of the outdoor seating as being in a “certain pattern” does not explain the four tables shown. The response is also one word below the 150-word minimum; the 12 words copied from the prompt are excluded from the count. Develop the main comparisons more precisely.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic, useful structure: an introduction, an overview and two paragraphs describing changes. This helps the reader distinguish the general summary from individual features. However, progression within the detail paragraphs is not always clear, and several linking expressions feel mechanical or do not show the intended relationship. For example, “However” introduces the serving-area change without a clear contrast, while “Although” begins a sentence that has no contrasting main clause. The final paragraph also combines the salad bar, barbecue and outdoor seating without a clear spatial sequence. Grouping changes by location—inside first, then outside—and using simpler, more precise links would make the account easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant vocabulary for describing plans, such as “replaced,” “recycling bins,” “west,” and “south-west,” and the reader can generally identify the facilities being compared. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate, which sometimes makes the meaning unclear. “Normal dustbins” and “promoted to recycling bins” do not describe the change naturally; “the bin was replaced by recycling bins” would be clearer. “Servicing area” is not the label shown, and “certain pattern” is too vague to describe the outdoor tables. There are also spelling errors in “noticable,” “salar,” and “barbeue.” Use the plan’s labels accurately and choose specific terms for changes and locations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt a few complex forms, including “which are replaced by two sections” and “where tables and chairs are available,” but control is inconsistent. The opening has a subject–verb agreement error (“The two plan illustrates”) and is missing an article in “few changes.” Tense and verb-form choices are also problematic: “some facilities are also added” and “tables and chairs had remained same” do not fit the past-to-present comparison clearly. In “Although, barbeue is also attached outside,” the subordinate conjunction leaves the sentence incomplete, and the comma after “Although” is unnecessary. These errors recur and can make relationships between changes difficult to understand. Practise accurate past and present forms, articles, and complete complex sentences.

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