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 provided plan illustrates cafe of college before redesigning and demonstrates that which changes have been made in cafe of college after its refurbishment.

Colleges's cafe building before redesigning had two separate staff dining rooms in front of the entrance door. Few tables and chairs were placed in hall of cafe. Toilets had constructed in the corner of cafe. Outside of the toilet bins were placed for rubbish. Serving area which inlude food and food was established on the far left corner of cafe. Kitchen was also constructed on the back side of serving area.

Today after redesigning, two staff dinning have been replaced in take away food and coffee bar. Salad bar has also been established in main hall of cafe. Serving area have been replaced by hot meals however, kitchen is still at the same place. Recycle bin has been introduced into the place of bin. Large outdoor seating have been made that several chairs and tables have set up in open space. Also barbecue setup has been made near the outdoor seating.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the main purpose of the plans and report several important changes: the staff dining rooms become a takeaway-food area and coffee bar, a salad bar is added, the serving counter becomes a hot-meals counter, and outdoor seating with a barbecue is introduced. You also correctly note that the kitchen and toilets remain in place and that recycling bins replace the bin. This covers the task’s main features, although some details are less fully reported: for example, the new southern doors and the outdoor area’s four tables are omitted, and the overview of what changed versus what stayed the same could be clearer. A few locations are imprecise, such as saying the staff rooms were “in front of the entrance door.” Prioritise the largest changes and describe their positions accurately.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall sequence: it first describes the original café and then explains how it looks after the redesign. This before-and-after organisation makes the comparison easy to follow, and linking expressions such as “Today after redesigning,” “however,” and “Also” help connect points. The paragraphing is appropriate, but the first paragraph moves between the staff rooms, seating, toilets, bins, and serving area without a particularly clear spatial route. Some connections are also mechanical or unclear, especially “Outside of the toilet bins were placed,” which makes the relationship between the features difficult to interpret. Grouping details by area—for example, north side, central space, and southern exterior—and using clearer references would create smoother progression.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for describing a plan, including “replaced,” “established,” “introduced,” and “outdoor seating,” and the reader can generally understand the changes. However, several word choices or collocations are inaccurate or repetitive. “Serving area which inlude food and food” does not clearly convey the label “all food & drink,” while “large outdoor seating have been made” is an unnatural way to describe the new area. “Staff dinning” and “Recycle bin” also show spelling or word-form problems. Aim for precise plan vocabulary and natural collocations, such as “the serving area,” “a seating area was added,” and “recycling bins.” These improvements would make the description more fluent and exact.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple statements and longer sentences, including a contrast with “however” and a relative clause beginning “which.” The basic meaning is usually recoverable, but errors in sentence structure, articles, agreement, and verb forms occur across the response. For example, “cafe of college” needs an article or possessive form, “Toilets had constructed” lacks the passive auxiliary, and “Serving area have been replaced” has incorrect subject–verb agreement. The final sentence, “that several chairs and tables have set up,” also has a faulty clause and passive construction. Practise accurate patterns such as “The toilets were located…” and “A seating area was added, with tables and chairs.” More reliable control of these structures would improve clarity.

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