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 illustrates a college cafe before it was redesigned and how it looks now. This essay will provide enough information about the plan, how it looks now, and how it looked then.

Overall, the general shape of the cafe's floor plan design has not changed, which looked like an L-shaped structure. However, it has some improvements in the overall cafe.

The first thing we notice that remains prominently the same is the tables and chairs. The second thing we can see unchanged is the kitchen, which is located on the upper side of both designs.

The first thing we perceive that has changed is the hot meals, which were a serving area before it was redesigned. The second place that changed is the staff dining rooms, which were split, with one serving as a coffee bar and another for takeaway food. A barbecue was added to the redesigned plan, which improved it significantly. There are another two doors have been added, which will help people who want to use the cafe outdoors.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the broad purpose of the plans and note several genuine changes, including the hot-meal counter, the former staff rooms becoming a coffee bar and takeaway area, and the new barbecue and southern doors. The overview that the general shape remains similar is also relevant. However, important features are omitted: the salad bar, recycling bins, and the outdoor seating area with tables are not described, and the toilets’ unchanged position is not mentioned. The claim that the cafe is L-shaped is not supported by the plans, and saying the staff rooms were “split” does not clearly explain the two adjoining new sections. Cover the main changes more fully and describe locations precisely to make the summary more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, moving from an introduction and overview to features that stayed the same and then changes. This gives the reader a basic route through the comparison. However, progression is weakened by repeated sequencing phrases such as “The first thing” and “The second thing,” which make the account sound like a list rather than a connected comparison. The final paragraph also combines several changes without a clear spatial order, while the outdoor seating is only referred to indirectly. Use paragraphs organised around unchanged features and key alterations, and connect details with clear location-based references such as “along the western wall” or “to the south of the cafe.”

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant plan vocabulary, including “floor plan,” “serving area,” “coffee bar,” “takeaway food,” and “barbecue,” so the reader can understand the general subject. However, the range is limited by repeated, conversational wording such as “first thing we notice” and “the second thing we can see.” Some choices are imprecise: “improvements” gives an opinion rather than neutrally describing redesign features, and “split” does not clearly convey that the former rooms were replaced by two adjoining service areas. Aim for concise, objective language and more precise terms for locations and changes. This would make the comparison sound more like an academic report and reduce repetition.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt some longer sentence forms, including the relative clause in “the kitchen, which is located on the upper side of both designs,” and most of the meaning remains understandable. However, several structures are incomplete or awkward. “The first thing we notice that remains prominently the same is the tables and chairs” lacks a clear grammatical link after “notice,” and “There are another two doors have been added” incorrectly combines two verb structures. The tense and phrasing in “which looked like an L-shaped structure” are also unclear. Practise forming accurate comparison sentences, for example, “Two doors have been added to the southern wall,” and check subject–verb agreement and clause construction.

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