Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-09

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 maps compare about a collage cafe between before its redesigned and now.

Overall, it is evident that the cafe was more developed after redevelopment, add new facilities such as outdoor seating and hot meals and staff dining rooms had removed.

To commence with cafe before redevelopment, the kitchen and serving area (all food and drink) located on the top-left side of the map. Moreover, in the center of the map two dining room for staff was presented with different entrance, in addition on the top-right corner, the 2 doors were presented for enterence and below the doors were bin. The toilets were located on the bottom- right corner.

Furthermore, on the top of the map side the hot meals added with kitchen. The bin, two dining rooms had transformed in recycling bins, take away food and coffee bar respectively. In additionally, a new outdoor seating represented on the bottom side of the map with a barbecue that located on the bottom-left corner of the map. salad bar represented between kitchen and barbecue. And toilets located on the similar location.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You cover the main before-and-after changes and provide an overview, noting the addition of outdoor seating and hot meals and the removal of the staff dining rooms. You also correctly identify the kitchen and toilets as remaining in place, and describe the new barbecue and salad bar. This gives the response a relevant, reasonably complete account of the plans. However, some details are unclear or inaccurate: the staff dining rooms were along the north wall, not “in the center,” and the salad bar is along the western wall rather than between the kitchen and barbecue. The overview could also identify the broader change more precisely: the interior was reorganised and expanded with outdoor dining. More accurate positioning and fuller comparison would strengthen the response.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction and overview are followed by descriptions of the original café and its current layout. This gives the reader a basic progression through the plans. However, the sequencing within the body is sometimes difficult to follow, particularly in “The bin, two dining rooms had transformed in recycling bins, take away food and coffee bar respectively,” where the relationships between the old and new features are compressed. Linking phrases such as “Moreover,” “Furthermore,” and “In additionally” are used mechanically or inaccurately, and some references, such as “on the top of the map side,” are unclear. Grouping changes by area—north, west, and south—would make the comparison easier to track.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some task-relevant vocabulary, including “redevelopment,” “serving area,” “recycling bins,” “outdoor seating,” and “barbecue,” so the reader can identify many of the features. However, the range and control of word choice are limited, with noticeable errors that sometimes make descriptions hard to interpret. Examples include “collage cafe” for “college café,” “different entrance” for separate entrances, and “represented” where “located” or “provided” would be more natural. “The cafe was more developed” is also vague; “the café was modernised and its facilities expanded” would be more precise. Check spelling and collocations, and choose verbs that clearly describe location, addition, or replacement.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, and the overall meaning is usually recoverable. However, errors in sentence structure and grammatical forms are frequent enough to cause difficulty in places. For example, “the kitchen and serving area … located” needs a finite verb (“were located”), while “two dining room … was presented” has errors in both number and agreement. The overview phrase “add new facilities … and staff dining rooms had removed” also needs clearer parallel structure and passive forms (“new facilities were added, while the staff dining rooms were removed”). Articles and prepositions are often missing or misplaced. Practise accurate past-tense descriptions and passive constructions, then proofread each sentence for a complete subject and verb.

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