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.

The plans below show a college cafe before it was redesigned and how it looks now.

Student answer (Band 5.5)

The map represents the plan about a college cafe earlier it was rewap and how it looks now.

Looking from an overall perspective, it is readily apparent that the cafe has become more developed for students with addition of space for outdoor eating and sitting. In addition of salad bar and barbecue.

To begin with, cafe inner area, there were two staff dining rooms in front of cafe enterence, which had replaced with one for take away and one for coffee bar. Similarly, there was a conjusted space for bin which had extended for recycle bin. Although, there was a addition of salad bar on left.

The area for kitchen remain same as before redesign but serving area for all kind of food and drink had replaced with hot meals. Two doors were open on bottom of cafe one for enterence other for exit which like outside area of cafe. There were addition for sitting and eating. There were many table and chair for dine-in open. Also there was additional area developed for barbecue.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response6.0
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the main direction of change: the café gains outdoor seating and a barbecue, while the former staff dining rooms become takeaway and coffee-bar areas. You also correctly note that the kitchen and toilets remain in place and that the serving counter changes to hot meals. These relevant comparisons address the task, but some details are unclear or inaccurate. For example, the two staff dining rooms were replaced by two adjoining sections, not “one for take away and one for coffee bar” in a way that clearly describes their arrangement. The entrance description is also confusing: the plan shows two doors in the southern wall leading to outdoor seating, rather than one entrance and one exit. A clearer overview and more precise coverage of the key changes would strengthen the report.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic overall structure, moving from an overview to details about the interior and then the outdoor area. This gives the reader a general route through the comparison. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes difficult to follow, and several linking expressions are used inaccurately or mechanically. For instance, “In addition of salad bar and barbecue” is an incomplete sentence, while “Although” introduces a contrast that is not completed. The sequence “There were addition for sitting and eating. There were many table and chair…” repeats the same point rather than developing it. Group the changes by location, use clear comparisons between the two plans, and connect each sentence with accurate transitions and references.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some task-relevant vocabulary, including “staff dining rooms,” “take away,” “coffee bar,” “salad bar,” and “barbecue,” so the main features can generally be recognised. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate, which sometimes makes the description unclear. Examples include “conjusted space for bin,” “extended for recycle bin,” and “additional area developed for barbecue.” Spelling errors such as “enterence” and “rewap” also reduce precision. Aim for standard plan-description language, such as “was replaced by,” “was converted into,” “recycling bins,” and “outdoor dining area.” Vary repeated words such as “addition” and “area” with precise alternatives.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a comparison with “but” and a clause beginning “Although.” However, control is inconsistent, and errors in sentence construction and verb forms sometimes make relationships between features difficult to understand. For example, “the cafe earlier it was rewap” does not form a clear grammatical clause, and “which had replaced with one” is missing the appropriate passive construction. There are also errors in articles, agreement, and plurals, as in “there were a addition” and “many table and chair.” The sentence beginning “In addition of salad bar and barbecue” is incomplete. Practise accurate passive forms (“was replaced by”), complete sentences, and consistent past-tense descriptions.

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