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 design illustrates the cafe structure before and after its redesign.

Overall, old cafe had limitted facilities and today's cafe has increased the number of facilities and also the size of the resturant, including indoor and outdoor features.

In old Cafe, there was a kitchen and besides that the area allocated for food and drinks. Inside the main hall there was a sitting space for customers that included tables and chairs. There was a bathroom on bottom left corner and besides that there was a trash can as well. The dinning area for customers was also adjacent to customer dining area.

In new Cafe, there are things which haven't been changed, for instance kitchen, toilet area and rubbish bin. However there are a lot of new things added to the overall options and amenities the resturant provides. Salad and coffe areas have been added to the menu. Cafe has also increased the sitting area with outdoor seating. customers can also take the food to their home. f

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the broad change from the original café to a more varied modern layout, and your overview notes the addition of indoor and outdoor facilities. However, several details are inaccurate or unclear: the toilets were in the bottom-right corner, not the bottom-left, and the original bin was replaced by recycling bins rather than remaining unchanged. The claim that the restaurant’s size increased is not clearly supported; the main indoor area remains, while outdoor seating was added. Important changes such as the new hot-meals counter, take-away section, coffee bar, barbecue and southern access doors are omitted or only vaguely described. More precise comparisons of these features would make the report more complete and better grounded in the plans.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overall statement, and separate paragraphs for the old and new café. This gives the reader a basic route through the comparison. Linking phrases such as “Overall,” “However,” and “for instance” help connect ideas, although some connections are unclear or repetitive. For example, “The dinning area for customers was also adjacent to customer dining area” repeats the same idea without clarifying the layout, and the transition from unchanged features to new amenities could be more systematic. Organise each body paragraph around specific locations or changes, and use clear references to distinguish the original bin from the new recycling bins. This would strengthen progression and cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant vocabulary, including “redesign,” “facilities,” “outdoor seating,” and “tables and chairs,” so the topic is generally understandable. However, the range is limited and several choices are imprecise or informal for describing a plan. “Bathroom” is less suitable than “toilets” here, while “trash can” and “rubbish bin” vary unnecessarily for the same feature. Phrases such as “things which haven't been changed” and “new things added” are vague, and “added to the menu” does not accurately describe the new café areas. Spelling errors such as “limitted,” “dinning,” and “coffe” are also noticeable. Use precise labels from the plan and varied terms for facilities and layout changes.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple sentences and longer structures, including “However there are a lot of new things added…” and “customers can also take the food to their home.” However, errors occur frequently enough to make some sentences awkward or unclear. Articles and possessives are missing in “Overall, old cafe” and “Cafe has also increased,” while “there was a kitchen and besides that the area allocated…” lacks a clear grammatical connection. The sentence about the dining area is also difficult to interpret because its comparison is incomplete. Capitalisation and punctuation are inconsistent, including lowercase “customers” after a full stop and the stray final “f.” Practise accurate past-tense descriptions of the former plan and present-tense descriptions of the current one, with complete, clearly punctuated sentences.

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