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 plan displays the visuals of cafe before and after it was redesigned.

Overall,the location of kitchen,bin,tables and chairs and toilets remains the same before and after the redesign. Though, serving room and staff dining rooms are now changed with hot meals, take away and coffee bar respectively.Although in the new plan outdoor seating has been added as well along with a barbecue area.

In the cafe before redesign kitchen includes a serving area that used to serve food and drinks though after the redesign it now only serves hot meals.In the cafe plan before redesign the other section includes tables and chairs, bin and toilets though they remains the same in the redesign as well. But the staff dinning rooms in this section was replaced by take away food and coffee bar now though the redesign includes a salad bar in this section as well.Though in the updated plan it includes an outdoor seating along Babrecue setup as well.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You identify the main overall changes: the kitchen and central seating remain, the former staff dining rooms become takeaway and coffee facilities, and outdoor seating with a barbecue is added. You also note the change from a general serving area to hot meals and the continued presence of the toilets and bin area. This gives the reader a relevant comparison of both plans. However, some important details are only briefly mentioned or omitted: the new salad bar on the western wall, the recycling bins, and the two new doors to the outdoor area. The overview also says the bin remains, rather than clarifying that it becomes recycling bins. More precise coverage of these features, with clearer descriptions of where they are, would make the summary more complete and developed.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has a recognisable structure, moving from an introduction and overview to details about the original and redesigned café. This helps the reader follow the broad comparison. However, progression within the body is not consistently clear: the second paragraph groups several changes together, then returns to the central area and outdoor facilities without a clear spatial or before-and-after sequence. Linking words are also repetitive or awkward, particularly the repeated use of “though” and “as well.” The overview sentence beginning “Though” is not smoothly connected to the preceding statement. Organise the details into a clearer sequence—for example, changes inside the café followed by the new outdoor area—and use a smaller, more precise range of transitions and references.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for describing a plan, including “redesigned,” “serving area,” “tables and chairs,” and “outdoor seating.” These terms make the main changes understandable. However, the range is limited and some wording is imprecise or repetitive: “section” is used broadly, while “includes” and “remains the same” recur. There are also spelling errors in “dinning” and “Babrecue,” and “serving room” is not the clearest label for the area shown. Use more exact plan vocabulary and check spelling carefully. For instance, distinguish facilities from areas and describe changes with verbs such as “was converted into,” “was replaced by,” or “was added along the western wall.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt a mixture of simple and more complex sentences, including contrasts with “Although” and “though,” and the overall meaning is generally recoverable. However, several sentence structures are faulty, and punctuation and agreement errors recur. In “Overall,the location…,” spacing after punctuation is missing; “Though, serving room…” is an incomplete and awkwardly connected clause. In “they remains the same,” the plural subject does not agree with the verb, while “the staff dinning rooms… was replaced” also has a subject–verb agreement problem. The final sentence beginning “Though” is another fragment-like construction. Practise forming complete sentences with clear subjects and verbs, and check agreement and punctuation when joining contrasting ideas.

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