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 illustrate the changes made to a café before and after its redesign.

overall, as compared with old map the cafe after the redesign is modernized and well organized with more space and seperate areas for different purposes.

Before the redesign the cafe had only a few areas including kitchen,serving area consists of all types of food and drinks,staff dining rooms located behind tables and chairs. toilets were at the corner of the room and bin beside them.

After the redesign,the cafe was modernized and several changes were made to its layout. the kitchen and toilets remained in the same places.but now in the redesigned cafe there is hot meals area replace the serving area and staff dining room is divided into two different rooms takeaway food area and coffee bar area.on the western side area of modern cafe there is salad bar and also barbecue area opposite to salad bar. the best thing in this new map is outdoor seating area which makes the cafe more attractive

Compared with the café before the redesign, the café now has a more attractive appearance and a better-organized layout.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the main purpose of the plans and give a general overview that the redesigned café is more organised and has additional facilities. You also correctly note that the kitchen and toilets remain in place, and mention the new hot-meal counter, takeaway and coffee-bar sections, salad bar, and outdoor seating. However, some important comparisons are missing or unclear: the central tables and chairs remain, the bin becomes recycling bins, and two doors connect the café to the outdoor seating. The barbecue is not opposite the salad bar; it is outside, beside the outdoor seating. The claim that the staff dining room is “divided” is also imprecise, as those rooms are replaced by the new service areas. More precise coverage of these changes would make the summary more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and paragraphs describing the café before and after the redesign. This helps the reader follow the broad comparison. However, progression within the description is uneven, and some details are grouped in a way that makes their locations difficult to understand. For example, the sentence about the western salad bar and barbecue incorrectly links the two, while the final sentence repeats the overview rather than adding a useful comparison. Linking phrases such as “Before the redesign” and “After the redesign” are helpful, but transitions are limited and some punctuation around them is awkward. Organise the changes by location or by what stayed and what changed, and use clearer references to connect each detail.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for describing a plan, including “redesign,” “layout,” “serving area,” “western side,” and “outdoor seating.” These choices make the topic clear, and you attempt some more specific terms such as “modernized” and “attractive.” However, several expressions are imprecise or repetitive: “modernized” is used more than once, “the best thing” is informal for an academic summary, and “opposite to salad bar” does not accurately describe the barbecue’s position. There are also spelling and word-form slips, including “seperate” and “takeaway” used inconsistently as a compound label. Aim for precise spatial language and neutral reporting vocabulary, rather than evaluative comments about what is “best” or attractive.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, and the overall meaning is generally understandable. For instance, you use a comparison in “as compared with old map” and combine several changes in the sentence beginning “After the redesign.” Some grammatical errors remain, however. Articles and plurals are inconsistent in phrases such as “the cafe” and “staff dining room,” while “there is hot meals area” needs a plural verb and an article. The sentence “the kitchen and toilets remained in the same places.but now” also has faulty punctuation and sentence boundaries. Capitalisation after full stops is inconsistent. Check articles, subject–verb agreement, and punctuation, then divide long sentences so each comparison is expressed clearly.

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