Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-07

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 plans depict the information about the changes in a college cafe before and after it is redesigned .

Overall,it can be seen that that cafe undergoes drastic changes in which some facilities are developed and some of them are replaced with another ones.

To begin with, On the north side , serving area is now replaced by a hot meals section and to the right of this section there were staff dining rooms which are now changed to a take away food unit and a coffee bar.Moreover,bin in the east side of the cafe is now enhanced with the recycling facility.Now moving to the west side , salad bar is constructed newly which was not available before renovation.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify several genuine changes, including the replacement of the serving area with a hot-meals section, the conversion of the staff dining rooms into takeaway and coffee facilities, and the addition of a salad bar and recycling bins. However, the response only partially covers the plans: it omits important features such as the outdoor seating, barbecue, toilets, and the central tables and chairs. The overview says facilities were developed or replaced, but does not clearly summarise the main overall transformation. The response is also below the required 150 words, which limits the detail available to describe and compare the two layouts. To strengthen the report, include the southern expansion and state which facilities remained unchanged as well as those that were added or repurposed.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic progression, moving from an overview to changes around the north, east, and west sides. Linking expressions such as “To begin with,” “Moreover,” and “Now moving to” help signal this sequence. However, the report ends without covering the southern part of the plan, so the description feels incomplete rather than fully developed. Some transitions are mechanical, and the long sentence beginning “To the right of this section” combines several changes without clear separation. Organise the details into a more balanced sequence—for example, interior changes followed by the new outdoor area—and use clear sentence boundaries. This would make the progression easier to follow and reduce reliance on formulaic transitions.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for describing a plan, including “north side,” “east side,” “replaced,” “recycling facility,” and “constructed.” This gives the reader a basic understanding of the changes. However, some word choices and collocations are imprecise or awkward: “the information about the changes” is unnecessary, “enhanced with the recycling facility” does not accurately describe the bin’s replacement, and “another ones” is incorrect in form. “Cafe” and “section” are also repeated, while more precise terms such as “counter,” “seating area,” or “added” could improve variety. Aim for concise, natural descriptions of what was removed, retained, or introduced, and check singular and plural forms when choosing alternatives.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including the contrast in “serving area is now replaced … and … staff dining rooms … are now changed.” The main relationships between facilities are generally understandable. However, errors in articles, agreement, tense, and punctuation recur: “that cafe” needs an article, “another ones” has a number mismatch, and “there were staff dining rooms” shifts awkwardly into the past within a description of the current plan. The opening also contains duplicated wording (“that that”), and commas are often followed by missing spaces or inconsistent capitalisation. Use consistent present-tense forms for the current layout and past forms for the former one, and proofread sentence boundaries and articles.

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