Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

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

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 two picture are representing the arrangements of a same resturant first one show earlier arrangement and sceound one showing present arrangement.

In the first design which was reffering to the old settings of the cafe is just basic rasturent setting,but the recent setting is very organised which indicates proper utilization of the space.

Main changes are made in the inside space where old design only setteled with the chair and table, but in the new one, we can see that with the base guest area they open different section which is called salaed bar which specially set for salad items for customers.

On the other side they extended their space with outdoor seating which is not preasent in the older design. That thing give the cafe a new level of attraction and more customer capacity for the shop.

In the last we can say that the new design is much more attractive and customer plus business friendly beacuse of they added hot meals section which was used to serve all food. Thay change the staff dining room by "Take Away" section which will be more customer friendly then waiting with the cafe guest and last but not least the coffe bar and barbecue section added more scope for attracting sagemented customer how are found of this type of food and drinks.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response6.5
Coherence and Cohesion6.0
Lexical Resource5.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You identify the broad contrast between the earlier and current café, and you report several key changes: the salad bar, outdoor seating, hot-meal counter, takeaway section, coffee bar and barbecue. Your overview that the redesign makes greater use of the space is relevant, and the main features are generally grounded in the plans. However, some details are unclear or imprecise: the hot-meal counter replaced the serving area, rather than being described as a section “used to serve all food,” and the staff dining rooms were replaced by takeaway and coffee-bar areas. The claim that the new design is more attractive and business-friendly is evaluative rather than a clear description of the plans. More precise comparisons and a fuller account of what remained unchanged would strengthen the report.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable overall structure: it introduces the two plans, gives a general comparison, and then discusses changes inside and outside the café. Paragraph breaks help separate these points. However, progression is sometimes difficult to follow because several changes are packed into long sentences, especially the final paragraph, where the hot-meal counter, staff rooms, takeaway area, coffee bar and barbecue are joined together. Linking phrases such as “On the other side” and “In the last” are not always natural or precise, and references such as “That thing” are vague. Grouping the changes by location and using clearer transitions would make the comparison easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You attempt a range of task-related vocabulary, including “arrangements,” “utilization,” “outdoor seating,” “customer capacity” and “attraction.” This shows some ability to describe the redesign, but control is limited by frequent spelling errors and imprecise or unnatural word combinations, such as “basic rasturent setting,” “base guest area,” “segmented customer” and “scope for attracting.” These errors can make the intended meaning difficult to interpret. Some wording is also repetitive, particularly “customer friendly” and “attracting.” Use the labels from the plans where possible, and choose precise terms such as “seating area,” “food counter” and “customers with particular preferences.” Careful proofreading would improve clarity.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more extended sentences, including contrasts introduced by “but” and clauses beginning with “which.” However, complex sentences are often difficult to control, as in “the new one, we can see that with the base guest area they open different section,” where the sentence structure and verb forms obscure the meaning. There are also recurring errors in agreement, articles and tense, for example “The two picture are representing” and “first one show.” Sentence boundaries and punctuation are sometimes weak, particularly in the long final sentence. Practise writing shorter, complete comparisons first, then combine them with accurate clauses. Check subject–verb agreement and use consistent past and present forms when describing the two plans.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.