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 plans illustrate a college cafe before it was redeveloped and how it looks currently.

Overall, the cafe has undergone with significant redevelopment, with many original features being removed or replaced.

In the south corner of kitchen, serving area for (all food & drink) is now being replaced with the area of hot meals. Staff dining rooms have changed into two rooms, one is to take away food and the second one is now a coffe bar. Significantly, Bin is now being updated to recycling bins, located at the eastern side of cafe. Tables and chairs are at the same position where they were before.

At the bottom Western side of cafe, new salad bar has introduced. Similarly, at the bottom of the cafe new development has take place. Like, at the left most side the facility of barbecue has been initialised, also the arrangement for outdoor seating has been made which is located at the bottom of the cafe.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the main change from a general perspective and report several accurate details, including the conversion of the serving area to hot meals, the two new food-and-drink sections, the recycling bins, and the outdoor seating and barbecue. The overview that the café has been redeveloped is relevant, but it is broad and does not clearly summarise the most significant overall changes, especially the addition of facilities and seating outside. Some locations are unclear or inaccurate: the salad bar is on the western wall, not specifically at the “bottom Western side,” and the barbecue is to the south-west of the building. The toilets remain in place, but this is not mentioned. Select the key changes more precisely and describe their positions clearly.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic overall structure: an introduction, a brief overview, and paragraphs describing changes. This helps the reader recognise that you are comparing the café before and after redesign. However, the progression within the details is not always clear. The third paragraph moves from the kitchen to staff rooms, bins, and tables, while the final paragraph shifts between the western and southern areas without a consistent route through the plan. Linking phrases such as “Similarly” and “Like” do not always express the relationship accurately, and “Like” introduces an incomplete-sounding example. Group changes by area—for example, interior facilities first, then the southern outdoor area—and use clear comparisons such as “whereas” or “while.”

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant vocabulary for describing a plan, including “redeveloped,” “recycling bins,” “outdoor seating,” and “located.” These choices make the main subject understandable. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are unnatural, which reduces precision: “undergone with significant redevelopment,” “updated to recycling bins,” and “the facility of barbecue has been initialised” do not describe the changes naturally. “Coffe” is also misspelled, and repeated use of “area” and “development” makes the description less specific. Use standard plan-description terms such as “converted into,” “added,” “remains,” and “positioned,” and check spelling and collocations before submitting.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response attempts some complex structures, including “Overall, the cafe has undergone…” and the sentence comparing the staff dining rooms with the new facilities. However, the range is limited, and errors occur frequently enough to make some sentences awkward or difficult to follow. For example, “serving area … is now being replaced” uses an unsuitable progressive form for a completed redesign, while “one is to take away food and the second one is now a coffe bar” has unclear sentence structure. There are also missing or incorrect articles and prepositions, as in “At the bottom of the cafe new development has take place.” Practise concise past-to-present comparisons, with accurate forms such as “was replaced by” and “has been added.”

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

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