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)

These plans illustrates the college cafe design, before nad after renovation. After redesign, add some places for student convinient which did not had in before redesign plan.

Before renovation, cafe covered large area for tables and chairs and from there on right built a bin and at corner toilets had made whereas, on north side staff dining rooms are situated and on north west there was a kitchen and serving area are built.

Then, after renovation, on cafe seem a huge difference from earlier. Large area covered by tables and chairs and from there on east built a recycle bins and at corner toilets has made whereas, on north built a place for take away food and beside that coffee bar are there. While on south outdoor seating are available and from left barbecue facility are also there, after that on west have a salad bar, further this, on north west there are hot meals and kitchen are built.

Overall, before renovation cafe did not have enough facilities although, after renovation cafe contains all facilities which is required for students.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the main change: the café gains new food and drink facilities and outdoor seating, while the kitchen and toilets remain. You also mention several accurate locations, including the coffee bar, salad bar, recycling bins and barbecue. However, the overview that the old café “did not have enough facilities” is an unsupported judgement; describe visible changes rather than evaluating adequacy. Some details are unclear or incomplete: the two former staff dining rooms are replaced by takeaway and coffee-bar sections, and the new southern doors connect the café to outdoor seating. The description also says the barbecue is “from left,” which does not clearly establish its position. A more precise overview and clearer comparisons would make the key features more fully addressed.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, a paragraph about the former layout, one about the current layout, and a concluding overview. This gives the reader some organisation, and the before-and-after sequence is generally easy to follow. However, progression within sentences is often difficult to track. Repeated patterns such as “from there on right” and “whereas” combine several locations without clear relationships, while “While on south…” introduces another feature without a complete, well-linked structure. The final overview repeats a general judgement rather than synthesising the main changes. Use shorter, clearly focused sentences and organise details by area—for example, north, west, east and south—to make the comparisons more coherent.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant plan vocabulary, including “tables and chairs,” “staff dining rooms,” “outdoor seating,” “salad bar” and “recycle bins,” so the reader can identify many of the features. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate or unclear, such as “places for student convinient,” “a huge difference from earlier” and “all facilities which is required.” Spelling errors, including “nad” and “convinient,” also reduce accuracy. Some repeated general terms such as “built” and “facility” do not describe the layout precisely. Build a bank of map-reporting expressions such as “was replaced by,” “was added along,” and “remained in the same position,” and check spelling and word forms.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt longer sentences to compare locations, using connectors such as “whereas” and “while,” but these structures are often faulty, and the response relies heavily on similar sentence patterns. Errors in verb forms and agreement occur throughout: “These plans illustrates,” “after renovation, add,” and “toilets has made” do not form accurate clauses. Articles and prepositions are also frequently missing or misplaced, as in “on north” and “at corner toilets.” These errors sometimes make the relationships between features difficult to understand. Practise accurate simple past and present forms for describing plans, and build longer sentences from complete clauses—for example, “The kitchen remained, while the former staff rooms were replaced by…”—before adding further details.

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