Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-15

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 two maps illustrate how a college cafe has changed with new facilities.

Overall, the cafe has undergone significant redevelopment with many original features being removed or replaced. Recreational and commercial facilities have been added, including barbecue, coffee bar, salad bar, outdor seating, hot meals area, while the indoor seating and toilets remain unchanged.

Before modified there was a staff dining rooms infront of indoor seating area which has now been completely replaced by coffee bar and take away food area. The dust bin has been modifided by recycle bin.

On the eastern side, the area which was taken up by serving area (all food and drinks) has now been aquired by hot meals area. Salad bar has been added inside the cafe and this is a new addditional area of the cafe, while outdoor seating also a fascinated idea of the cafe, addition with barbecue.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the main change as a redevelopment and give a useful overview, noting that the indoor seating and toilets remain and that new facilities have been added. You also compare the former staff dining rooms with the new coffee bar and takeaway area. However, some details are inaccurate or unclear: the serving area is not on the eastern side, and the new hot-meals counter replaces it along the kitchen boundary. The outdoor seating and barbecue are mentioned but not clearly located or described, and the recycling bins are only briefly covered. The response is also four words below the required minimum. Develop the key changes more fully and check locations against the plans.

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 comparison. However, progression within the detail paragraphs is uneven. The final paragraph moves from the serving counter to the salad bar and then outdoors without clear spatial organisation, while phrases such as “while outdoor seating also…” make the relationship between features difficult to follow. Some linking is present, including “Overall” and “Before,” but connections are sometimes mechanical or unclear. Group changes by area—for example, north wall, interior, and southern exterior—and use clear references such as “the former serving counter” to make the comparison easier to track.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant task vocabulary, including “redevelopment,” “facilities,” “indoor seating,” and “outdoor seating,” and you attempt to describe replacement and addition. However, the range is limited and several word-choice, collocation, and spelling problems reduce precision. “Aquired by hot meals area” does not naturally describe the counter’s change, and “a fascinated idea” is not an appropriate way to describe a facility. There are also noticeable misspellings such as “outdor,” “modifided,” and “addditional.” Use precise map language such as “replaced by,” “located along,” and “added to the southern side,” and proofread spelling. This would make the description clearer and more suitable for an academic report.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more extended sentences, and the overview communicates the broad changes. However, control is inconsistent, particularly in longer constructions. “Before modified there was a staff dining rooms” has an incorrect opening structure, article, and plural agreement; “which has now been completely replaced” also has an unclear reference and tense choice. In “the area … has now been aquired by hot meals area,” the passive construction and article use are faulty. These errors sometimes make relationships between features hard to understand. Practise accurate past-tense descriptions of the former plan and present-tense descriptions of the current one, and build longer sentences around clear subjects and verbs. Check articles, agreement, and punctuation when editing.

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