Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-08

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 illustrates a college cafe before redesigned and after redesigned how it looks now.

Overall, cafe having some features such as kitchen, surving area, staff dining rooms, bin, toilets, tables and chairs. after redesigned some features are changed and some new features added such as hot meals, take away food, coffee bar, salad bar, barbecue, outdoor seating.

Cafe before redesigned some facilities are have such as kitchen, serving area, staff dining rooms, bin, toilets, tables and chairs, after redesign cafe kitchen are still similar but serving area are are changed as hot meals. staff dining rooms are converted to take away food and coffee bar area the the size of bin in increased double and give tag recycling bins and toilets are similal then on the left hand corner side new salad bar area designed and remaining area for tables and chairs and out side of cafe barbecue area also added and outdoor seating area designed.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the main change from staff dining rooms to takeaway and coffee facilities, and note that the kitchen and toilets remain while new outdoor seating and a barbecue are added. This gives the reader a relevant overview and covers several important features. However, some details are inaccurate or unclear: the bin is not doubled in size; it is replaced by recycling bins. The serving counter becomes a hot-meals counter, rather than the whole serving area simply changing, and the outdoor seating is not clearly located outside the southern wall. The overview also lists features without clearly summarising the overall shift in the café’s layout. More precise comparisons of the new western salad bar and southern outdoor area would make the report more complete and clear.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has a basic paragraph structure, with an opening, an overview and a longer description, and it generally moves from the former café to its redesigned features. This provides some organisation. However, progression is weakened by repetition: the first paragraph lists the original facilities, and the next paragraph repeats much of the same list before describing changes. The long final paragraph joins many separate points with commas and repeated “and,” making relationships between features difficult to follow. Use one paragraph for the overview and a clearly ordered comparison paragraph, grouping changes by location or by what stayed and what changed. More controlled linking and clearer sentence boundaries would improve the flow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant task vocabulary, including “staff dining rooms,” “tables and chairs,” “hot meals,” “coffee bar,” and “outdoor seating,” so the reader can recognise many of the plan features. There are also attempts to describe change, such as “converted” and “added.” However, spelling and word-choice errors are noticeable, including “surving,” “similal,” and “give tag,” and some phrases are not natural or precise, such as “the size of bin in increased double.” Repeated use of “features,” “area,” and “designed” limits flexibility. Practise accurate plan vocabulary and use verbs such as “replaced,” “remained,” and “was added” to describe changes precisely.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

You attempt to connect ideas in longer sentences and use some passive forms, for example, “staff dining rooms are converted to take away food and coffee bar area.” This shows an effort to describe changes rather than relying only on isolated labels. However, sentence structures are often faulty, and errors in agreement, articles, tense and sentence boundaries make parts difficult to interpret. Examples include “The plans illustrates,” “cafe having,” and “kitchen are still similar.” The final paragraph contains several clauses joined without clear punctuation, such as “the toilets are similal then on the left hand corner side…” Aim for accurate simple sentences first, then add controlled complex structures; check subject–verb agreement, articles and past-tense forms.

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