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 maps illustrate the changes that took place in a college cafe before andhow it appear now.

Overall, the area underwent considerable development. Several new facilities were constructed, while old college cafe features were replaced or convertd into new college cafe features. The area become more commercial.

Firstly, the kitchen before cafe redesign was situated in the upper side of the north-west that was on same place in new cafe and the serving area was replaced by hot meals with salad bar that was construct in today cafe on the wall of left side of the cafe in the south-west. Furthermore, the staf dinning rooms in old cafe were demolish by take away food and coffee bar into the new cafe. Tables and chairs were on the same place in the center of the north and south in both caffes. Morover, the bin was on same place with the wall of cafe in the upper side of south east, also toilets was on the same place of both caffes in the bottom corner of thr south-east. In addition the barbecue was arrange out side the new caffe with new out door seating for visitors.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the main overall change: the café has been modernised, with new facilities and a more commercial character. Several key comparisons are accurately reported, including the kitchen remaining in place, the staff dining rooms being replaced by takeaway and coffee facilities, and the toilets staying in the south-east corner. However, some details are unclear or inaccurate: the serving area is replaced by a hot-meals counter, while the salad bar is a separate addition on the western wall; the response makes these sound like one replacement. The bin is also described as remaining in the same place, but it is now labelled as recycling bins. Outdoor seating and a barbecue are mentioned, though their arrangement and the new southern access doors could be described more clearly.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an opening, an overview and a paragraph describing changes, and sequencing words such as “Firstly,” “Furthermore” and “In addition” help signal relationships. The overview also gives the reader a general sense of the redesign. However, most details are crowded into one long paragraph, so the account does not progress clearly from the interior changes to the outdoor additions. Some linking is mechanical, and the repeated use of “also” and “in addition” does not always clarify how features relate. Group the unchanged features together, then describe the replaced and newly added facilities in a logical order. Clearer sentence boundaries and references would make the comparisons easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant map vocabulary, including “situated,” “replaced,” “demolish” and “outdoor seating,” and you attempt to describe location and change. This gives you a basic range for the task. However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or awkward, such as “the area become more commercial,” “was construct,” and “the barbecue was arrange.” Spelling errors, including “staf,” “dinning” and “caffes,” also reduce precision. Some location phrases, such as “upper side of the north-west,” are difficult to interpret. Aim for concise, conventional map language and check word forms and spelling; this will make your descriptions more precise without requiring more elaborate vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including clauses linked with “while,” “that” and “also.” The main ideas are generally recoverable, but grammatical errors occur across the response and sometimes make relationships unclear. Examples include “how it appear now,” “the area become,” and “the staff dining rooms … were demolish,” where tense or verb forms are incorrect. There are also agreement and article problems in “toilets was” and “in the same place of both cafes.” Several sentences run on, particularly the long sequence beginning “Firstly,” which combines multiple changes without clear punctuation. Practise consistent past-tense descriptions of the former plan and present-tense descriptions of the current one, alongside subject–verb agreement and sentence boundaries.

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