Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-18

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 plan presents a comparision between a college cafe before and after its redesigning.

Overall, cafe underwent significant changes during its redesign. It had just one serving area for all foods and drinks but after renovation cafe has seprate areas for hot meals, coffee bar and salad bar. In addition outdoor seating and barbecue area was introduced. However, kitchen,main seating area and toilets are in their original location.

The cafe had a serving area for all foods adn drinks at the couter of its kitchen, it is now kept for only hot meals. In the nort east area cafe layout there were two seprate rooms for staff dining which was converted into takea

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify the main contrast between the original single serving area and the new hot-meal, coffee and salad facilities, and your overview correctly notes the added outdoor seating and barbecue while the kitchen, central seating and toilets remain. However, the response addresses the plan only partially: it stops while describing the former staff rooms (“converted into takea…”) and does not explain the new takeaway area or report other key changes, such as recycling bins replacing the bin and the new southern doors. The response is also below the required 150 words, which leaves important comparisons undeveloped. To improve, complete the description and cover the main changes across both the interior and exterior.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and the beginning of a detail paragraph. The overview groups several changes together, and “However” helps signal that some features stayed in place. Nevertheless, the progression is incomplete because the final paragraph breaks off at “converted into takea,” leaving the comparison unfinished and the response without a proper conclusion to its details. Some links between ideas are also abrupt, and the description does not move systematically around the plans. Organise the details into a clear sequence—for example, changes inside first, then the outdoor additions—and use complete sentences and clear references to connect the before-and-after features.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant vocabulary for describing a plan, including “redesign,” “serving area,” “separate areas,” “main seating area,” and “original location.” These choices communicate the general changes, but the range is limited and several spelling or word-form errors are noticeable, including “comparision,” “seprate,” “adn,” and “seprate” again. Some phrasing is also imprecise, such as “kept for only hot meals,” and “cafe layout” does not clearly identify the location. Use accurate plan vocabulary and check spelling carefully; more precise terms such as “counter,” “converted into,” and “located in the north-east” would make the comparisons clearer and more natural.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including the contrast in “It had just one serving area … but after renovation…” and the overview sentence beginning “However.” The main ideas are generally understandable, but grammatical control is uneven. Articles are missing in phrases such as “after renovation cafe” and “kitchen, main seating area and toilets,” while “cafe underwent” also needs an article. The sentence “The cafe had a serving area … at the couter of its kitchen, it is now kept…” joins two independent clauses with only a comma. The final sentence is incomplete, so its structure cannot be followed. Practise accurate articles and punctuation, and ensure every sentence is complete.

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