Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-16

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 plans below shows a college cafe before it was redesigned and how it looks now. Overall, The cafe goes from major upgradation as staff dining rooms have been transformed to food counter with coffee bar. The entrance gates has been increased after redesign. Additionally, Outdoor seating with barbecue has been intoduced in cafe redesign plan.

before the redesigning, The main entrance was from the north side of cafe. There was serving area with all the food and drinks in the kitchen. Outside the kitchen, There was staffing dinning rooms on the right side. The centre of the cafe contains tables and chairs for seating. The Toilet is on the south east of the cafe with a bin just at the opeining gate of toilet.

After upgradation, There are three different entrances for cafe now. There is now Hot meals counter in the kitchen area. Saladbar has been introduced on the west side of the cafe with two separate rooms for take away food and coffee bar in front of salad bar. The centre of cafe still contains table and chairs, however outdoor seating has been introduced with barbecue setup now. The toilet remain at the same place but additional recycling bins has been added.

Overall, the cafe has been completely transformed from its previous structure and contains designated counter for different items

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You identify the main transformation clearly: the former staff dining rooms become takeaway and coffee facilities, and outdoor seating with a barbecue is added. You also note that the kitchen, central tables and chairs, and toilets remain, while the bin becomes recycling bins. These are relevant comparisons and support a clear overview. However, some details are inaccurate or unclear: the original entrance is on the upper-right/east wall, not the north side, and the bin is along the eastern wall rather than at the toilet entrance. The claim that there are now “three different entrances” is not clearly supported; the plan shows two new southern doors to the outdoor area. More precise reporting of these positions would strengthen an otherwise well-focused summary.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, moving from an overview to descriptions of the earlier and current layouts, and then returning to a concluding overview. This helps the reader follow the broad comparison. However, the final paragraph repeats the opening overview rather than adding useful detail, and the progression between features is sometimes unclear. For example, “There is now Hot meals counter in the kitchen area” is followed by several features without a consistent route through the plan. Linking the changes by location—north, west, centre and south—would create clearer progression. Some connectors, such as “Additionally” and “however,” are used, but relationships between individual details could be signposted more precisely.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant layout vocabulary, including “transformed,” “introduced,” “centre,” “outdoor seating” and “recycling bins,” so the reader can understand the main changes. There is also some attempt to vary wording rather than simply listing labels. However, several choices are inaccurate or awkward for a plan description: “major upgradation,” “entrance gates has been increased,” and “staffing dinning rooms” do not express the intended ideas naturally. Spelling errors such as “intoduced,” “opeining” and “dinning” also reduce control. Use the plan’s precise labels where possible, and choose standard terms such as “redesigned,” “entrances” and “staff dining rooms.” This would make the description more accurate and fluent.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple statements and longer sentences, including a contrast with “however” and a clause beginning “as staff dining rooms have been transformed.” Meaning is generally recoverable, but errors in agreement, articles and verb forms occur across the response. Examples include “The two plans below shows,” “The entrance gates has been increased,” and “The toilet remain.” Articles are also missing in “There is now Hot meals counter,” while capital letters are used inconsistently after commas and at the start of sentences. These errors sometimes make the relationships between features less clear. Check subject–verb agreement and article use, and proofread sentence boundaries and capitalization while retaining your attempts at varied sentence structures.

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