Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-17

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.

The plans below show a college cafe before it was redesigned and how it looks now.

Student answer (Band 5.5)

The given maps illustrate the past and present structure of cafetria in college.

Overall, it is evident that the cafe experienced the significant changes. the outdoor seating is introduced in present map which is located in southern part and make it as a major implement, followed by staff dining rooms located at middle of the map and renovated into coffe bar and take away fod center. However, the kitchena nd toilets are remaned unlatred.

Before redesign, the kitchen is located at northwest side including serving areas in a corner. The area which is located in center of the map for tables and chairs However, the satff dinning rooms suitiuated in north side of map and bin and toilest are located in northeast corner. The entery point located in east side of the cafe.

After renovated, the staff dinning rooms are atered with coffe bar and take way food , and serving point change into hot meals. In suthern part of trhe cafe a new seatingare is introduced with barbecue point. Moreover slas bar is constructed in west side and the bin change in recycling bin. However, the toilets, kitchen and entry point remained unchanged

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response6.5
Coherence and Cohesion6.0
Lexical Resource5.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You identify the main transformation and cover most key features: the former staff dining rooms become a coffee bar and takeaway area, the serving counter changes to hot meals, and outdoor seating with a barbecue is added. You also note the salad bar and recycling bins, and correctly state that the kitchen and toilets remain. This gives a clear overview and addresses the task well. However, some details are inaccurate or unclear: the staff rooms were along the north wall, not “at middle,” and the entrance was on the eastern wall rather than simply unchanged without qualification. The overview also calls the outdoor seating a “major implement,” which obscures the intended point. More precise location reporting and a clearer summary of the main changes would strengthen the response further.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and separate descriptions of the former and current layouts. This makes the comparison generally easy to follow. The sequence from the old plan to the redesigned café is appropriate, and linking expressions such as “Overall,” “Before redesign,” “After renovated,” and “Moreover” help signal stages and additions. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical or unclear. The repeated “However” does not always express a contrast, and the long overview sentence combines several changes without clear relationships. Some sentences also run together, such as “The area which is located in center of the map for tables and chairs However…” Use clearer sentence boundaries and group features by location or by what changed versus what stayed the same.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant task vocabulary, including “outdoor seating,” “barbecue,” “recycling bin,” “serving point,” and “remained unchanged,” so the reader can identify many of the features. However, the range and control are limited by frequent spelling errors and imprecise or unnatural expressions. Examples include “cafetria,” “coffe,” “slas bar,” and “entery point”; these make the description less polished. Phrases such as “major implement” and “serving areas in a corner” do not convey the intended meaning naturally, while “take away food” would be clearer as “takeaway food.” Aim for accurate spelling and standard plan-description collocations, such as “is located in the north-west corner” and “was converted into.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, and the past-versus-present comparison is generally understandable. For example, “the kitchen and toilets are remaned unlatred” is intended to express that these facilities remained unchanged, while the final paragraph attempts to describe several alterations. However, errors in sentence construction and punctuation often make relationships difficult to follow. The sentence beginning “The area which is located in center…” is incomplete and then runs into “However,” without a clear boundary. Tense and verb forms are also inconsistent: “After renovated” and “the staff dinning rooms are atered” need a suitable passive construction, such as “After the renovation, the rooms were converted.” Check articles, sentence boundaries, and consistent past-tense forms when describing the changes.

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