Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-13

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 graph compares the design of the cafe, how it was before and how it looks afteer redesign.

Overall, kitchen, tables and chairs and toielts remaine the same . Serving area , staff dining rooms, bin has been replaced.Salad bar, barbecue and outdoor seating has been added .

Cafe before redesign, kitchen on the top left corner and serving area such as all food and drink was on the opposite side of kitchen. kitchen and serving area were outside of the cafe. Bin was on right side and toilets were on right bottom side .Staff dining rooms beside the serving area .Tables and chairs were in the center.

After resign, Serving area has been replaced by hot meals. Salad bar is on the left side . Recycling bin has been added on the right side of cafe. Takeaway food and coffee bar are build. Sorrounding the cafe, barbecue and outdoor seating has been added .

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You identify the main transformation and provide a useful overview: the kitchen, central seating and toilets remain, while new food facilities and outdoor seating are introduced. Several key comparisons are also accurate, including the change from the general serving area to hot meals and the replacement of the bin with recycling bins. This covers the task well, with some features more fully reported than others. However, some details are unclear or inaccurate: the kitchen and serving area were not outside the café, and the staff dining rooms were along the top wall rather than simply “beside” the serving area. The new takeaway and coffee sections, southern access doors and barbecue’s position could be described more precisely to make the account more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall shape: an introduction, an overview, and separate descriptions of the original and redesigned café. This makes the comparison reasonably easy to follow, and phrases such as “Overall” and “After redesign” help signal the stages. However, the progression within paragraphs is sometimes abrupt, with several short statements joined mainly by “and,” while some location references are vague—for example, “on the opposite side” and “surrounding the cafe.” The overview also runs several changes together without clearly distinguishing removals from additions. Grouping features by area (north, west, east and south) and using more precise links such as “whereas” or “in addition” would make the organisation and cohesion smoother.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant vocabulary for describing plans, including “replaced,” “added,” “center,” and “right bottom side,” so the reader can understand the main changes. However, the range is limited and some choices are imprecise or repetitive. “Map graph” is not a natural description of this visual, and “outside of the cafe” gives the wrong impression about the kitchen and serving area. There are also noticeable spelling errors, including “afteer,” “toielts,” “resign,” and “Sorrounding,” which reduce accuracy. Aim for precise plan vocabulary and collocations, such as “located in the north-west corner,” “along the eastern wall,” and “outdoor dining area.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

You communicate the main points using simple sentences and some attempts at more complex structures, but grammatical control is inconsistent. Errors include subject–verb agreement in “barbecue and outdoor seating has been added” and “are build,” as well as tense and form problems in “how it looks afteer redesign.” Articles and sentence boundaries are also unreliable: “kitchen on the top left corner” lacks a verb and article, while “.Staff dining rooms” has incorrect spacing and punctuation. These issues sometimes make relationships between features unclear, although the overall meaning is generally recoverable. Practise complete sentences with accurate past and present forms, and check agreement, articles and punctuation when describing what changed and what remains.

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