Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-12

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 plans illustrate a café in a college before and after its redesign .

In the south east corner , the toilets were not relocated , the architect preferred to keep them right where they were .

To the north , the regular bins were converted to recycling ones , larger and much more efficient .

Besides , bins are not the only thing left in their place ; tables and chairs are represented in the center of the cafe .

nevertheless , the staff dining rooms were replaced by a coffee bar and a take away food without being extended .

In the north-east , a hot meals space was constructed , to join the coffee bar and the take away room , and so , the serving area was no longer needed .

A new salad bar exists today ,just above the hot meals area , which creates a variety in the menu of the café.

the new design shows an important extension of the café ootdoors and creates a larger space for a barbacue and exterior seatings .

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify several important changes, including the toilets staying in place, the staff dining rooms being replaced, and the addition of a salad bar and outdoor seating. However, some locations and relationships are misreported: the recycling bins are on the eastern wall, not “to the north,” and the hot-meals counter replaces the former serving area beside the kitchen; it was not constructed in the north-east to join the other facilities. The overview is also limited: it would be clearer to state that the redesign adds new food-service options and expands the café outdoors. The claim that the bins are “larger and much more efficient” is not shown in the plans. Covering the main changes more accurately and developing the comparison would strengthen the response.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

The response moves through several features of the plans, and phrases such as “In the south east corner” and “nevertheless” attempt to guide the reader. However, the ideas are presented as one sequence of short, loosely connected statements rather than in a clear overview followed by organised comparisons. Some linking words do not express the relationship accurately: “Besides” introduces the central tables, while “nevertheless” does not establish a clear contrast with the preceding point. The repeated location-led openings also make the progression feel mechanical. Group the unchanged features together, then describe the changes inside the café and the new outdoor area. Clearer paragraphing and more precise referencing would make the comparison easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use a reasonable range of vocabulary for describing a redesign, including “relocated,” “replaced,” “converted,” and “extension.” These choices show an attempt to vary language rather than repeat basic terms. Some wording is inaccurate or unnatural for a plan description, however: “regular bins” is less precise than “general-waste bin,” “exterior seatings” is not idiomatic, and “a hot meals space was constructed” mislabels the counter shown. “Larger and much more efficient” also adds unsupported qualities. Spelling and word-form choices such as “ootdoors” and “barbacue” reduce accuracy. Aim for precise labels from the plan and natural collocations, especially when describing facilities and their locations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You attempt a mix of simple and more complex structures, including the relative clause in “which creates a variety” and the contrast in “without being extended.” Most sentences communicate their basic meaning, but some grammatical and punctuation errors remain. For example, “a coffee bar and a take away food” has an awkward article and noun construction, while “the café ootdoors” appears to lack a grammatical link between the café and its outdoor extension. Several sentences begin with lowercase letters, and spaces before commas or full stops are inconsistent. The past-tense description also shifts to present forms such as “exists” and “shows.” Keep the tense consistent when comparing the former and current plans, and check articles, sentence boundaries, and punctuation.

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

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