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 maps depict the changes in college cafe past to present time.

Overall, it is evident that it has been changed significantly with the introduction of new facilities such as salad bar, barbecue or coffee bar.

It is crystal clear that in both years, the kitchen remains the same. Under the kitchena area, there was serving area like all type of food and drink available but now this known with the name of hot meal. Next to it, there was area of staff dining rooms now this occupied by take away food and coffee bar. Moreover, tables and chairs are remained unchanged.

Moving further, in the south west, the space was empty in present there has salad bar opened. Furthermore, toilet has steadily remained. The area of waste material things are bigger now than in past.Therefore,Outside the college cafe barbecue are added for students. Also, there are more outdoor seating are arranged in present time.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the main overall change—the café has gained facilities such as a salad bar, coffee bar, barbecue and outdoor seating—and correctly note that the kitchen, central tables and toilets remain. You also compare the former staff dining rooms with the new takeaway and coffee-bar sections. However, some important details are unclear or inaccurate: the salad bar is on the western wall inside the café, not in the south-west where the space was empty, and the outdoor seating is newly added rather than simply “more” seating. The change from one bin to recycling bins is also described vaguely. A more precise account of the locations and the new southern doors would make the comparison more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview and two paragraphs describing changes. This gives the reader a basic route through the information, and linking phrases such as “Overall,” “Moreover” and “Furthermore” help signal relationships. However, progression within the detail paragraphs is sometimes difficult to follow. For example, “Moving further, in the south west” does not clearly connect the salad bar to its actual position, and “Therefore, Outside…” creates an unclear relationship between the preceding point and the barbecue. Some transitions feel mechanical, while references such as “this” and “the area” are not always precise. Grouping changes by interior and exterior, and using clearer location-based links, would improve cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant map vocabulary, including “kitchen,” “serving area,” “staff dining rooms,” “take away food” and “outdoor seating,” so the main features are generally identifiable. There is also an attempt to vary wording with phrases such as “introduction of new facilities” and “remained unchanged.” However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or awkward, including “this known with the name of hot meal,” “area of waste material things,” and “more outdoor seating are arranged.” “Steadily remained” is not a natural way to describe an unchanged toilet location. These choices sometimes make the intended comparison less clear. Use standard plan-description phrases such as “was replaced by,” “is located,” and “recycling bins” to express changes more precisely.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt a mixture of simple statements and longer sentences, and the overall meaning can usually be followed. However, errors in sentence structure, tense, agreement and articles occur across the response. For example, “The maps depict the changes in college cafe past to present time” lacks necessary grammatical framing, while “tables and chairs are remained unchanged” uses an incorrect verb construction. In “there was area of staff dining rooms now this occupied,” the clauses are not joined correctly and the second verb needs a passive form. There are also agreement problems in “barbecue are added” and “there are more outdoor seating are arranged.” Work on consistent past-versus-present comparisons, passive forms, articles and sentence boundaries; these are the main barriers to clearer, more accurate writing.

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

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