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 map shows changes to the college cafe before and after it was redesigned.

Overall the cafe has become more modern with the change to the layout. The prominent one is, the cafe is expended beautifully as earlier their was only one dining hall and now with the outdoor seeting it looks much better. Another big difference is dividing the service area into different parts according to the food. On the left side oposit to the recycling bins a new section (salad bar) has been build while the bin bin area remained unchanged.

Similarly, the enterance door and the out going door has also been moved to the outdoor seating side. Also inside the main cafe seating area the staff dinning rooms has been changed on a purpose for take away food and a cofee bar. Similarly the barbecure section is also been added outside the main cafe area near the outdoor seating adjusent to the outer door.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You identify the main change—the café gains outdoor seating—and mention several relevant alterations, including the salad bar, recycling bins, takeaway food, coffee bar and barbecue. The overview also recognises that the service provision has been divided into different sections. This gives the response a clear grasp of the redesign’s broad direction. However, some details are inaccurate or unclear: the entrance doors were not moved to the outdoor-seating side; two doors were added on the southern wall to provide access outside. The bin’s position remains, but it is now labelled “recycling bins,” rather than the “bin bin area” simply remaining unchanged. The kitchen and toilets also remain in place, and could strengthen the comparison. The main features are covered, but some are less fully and precisely reported.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic overall structure: an introduction, an overview, and a paragraph describing further changes. This helps the reader recognise that you are comparing the café before and after redesign. However, progression within the body is not consistently clear. “Similarly” is used repeatedly, although the points that follow are not always similar, and the sequence shifts between the left side, entrances, interior rooms and barbecue without a clear organising principle. References such as “the prominent one” and “the outdoor seating side” are also difficult to interpret. Grouping changes by location—for example, interior facilities first and outdoor additions second—and using more precise links such as “In addition” or “By contrast” would make the account easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some task-relevant vocabulary, including “layout,” “service area,” “salad bar,” “outdoor seating” and “take away food,” so the reader can identify many of the features being described. However, spelling and word-choice errors are noticeable and sometimes make the meaning less clear: “expended” appears to mean “expanded,” “seeting” means “seating,” and “oposit” means “opposite.” Some expressions are also imprecise or unnatural, such as “the prominent one,” “dividing the service area into different parts according to the food,” and “the bin bin area.” Aim for accurate map vocabulary and natural collocations, such as “the main change,” “food counters,” and “the bin was replaced by recycling bins.” Proofreading spelling would improve clarity.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including a comparison with “while” and clauses introduced by “as” and “for.” However, errors in sentence structure and grammatical forms are frequent enough to make some relationships unclear. For example, “The prominent one is, the cafe…” has faulty punctuation and an incomplete construction, while “the enterance door and the out going door has also been moved” has subject–verb disagreement and an unclear plural reference. In “the staff dinning rooms has been changed,” the plural subject also requires a plural verb, and the passive construction is not formed correctly. Work on agreement, articles, and accurate passive forms, and separate long sentences into clearer units. These changes would make your comparisons easier to understand.

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