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 map illustrates how a college cafe look before and after its reinnovation.

Overall, cafe has undergone significant redevelopment, with several new facilities constructed and few existing amenities expanded, whereas toilets remained unchanged.

Cafe before redesign, entrance was located at the top right corner, after entering into the cafe on the left side there is a dust bin to store wastage across that, toilets were situated at the bottom right corner. In the middle of the cafe there were tables and chair for vistors to sit and communicate with there friends and top of that were staff dining rooms. Moreover, there was an entrace for kitchen and serving area at the northwest.

Cafe after redesign, entrance, toilets, kitchen,tables and chairs have been remained stable without any modifications. Staff dining rooms has been replaced with take away food counter and coffee bar and also serving area for all food and drinks has been demolished to make way hot meals room. Outdoor seating area and barbecue have been constructed at the front side of cafe and salaad bar has been established at the northern side of the cafe.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You provide a clear overview of substantial redevelopment and correctly note that the toilets remained in the same place. You also identify several key changes, including the replacement of the staff dining rooms with takeaway and coffee facilities, and the addition of outdoor seating and a barbecue. However, some details are inaccurate or unclear: the bin was on the eastern wall below the entrance, not on the left after entering; the salad bar was on the western wall, not the northern side; and the kitchen and toilets remained, but the entrance arrangement changed with new southern doors to the outdoor area. The serving counter became a hot-meals counter rather than a separate room. More precise comparisons of these features would make the report more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and separate paragraphs for the original and redesigned café. This gives the reader a coherent general progression, and phrases such as “Overall” and “Moreover” help connect information. However, the description within each paragraph sometimes becomes difficult to follow because locations and relationships are expressed imprecisely, as in “on the left side” and “across that.” The repeated opening “Cafe before redesign” and “Cafe after redesign” is functional but somewhat mechanical. Organise the details by area—for example, north wall, central space, and southern exterior—and use clear references such as “the former staff rooms” to make comparisons easier to track.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a reasonable range of task-related vocabulary, including “redevelopment,” “facilities,” “replaced,” and “constructed,” which helps describe changes. Some choices, however, are inaccurate or unnatural for a plan description. “Dust bin to store wastage” is better expressed as “bin for waste,” while “demolished to make way hot meals room” does not accurately describe a counter replacing the serving area. “Stable without any modifications” is also less natural than “remained unchanged.” Spelling errors such as “reinnovation,” “vistors,” “entrace,” and “salaad” reduce accuracy. Aim for precise location and facility terms, and check spelling and collocations before finishing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including the overview clause beginning “with several new facilities constructed” and the contrast introduced by “whereas.” The main message is generally understandable, but some grammatical errors affect clarity. For example, “how a college cafe look” needs subject–verb agreement and an appropriate tense, and “Cafe before redesign, entrance was located” is missing an article and has an awkward sentence structure. In “Staff dining rooms has been replaced,” the plural subject requires a plural verb, while “have been remained” combines incompatible verb forms. There are also article and preposition problems in “make way hot meals room.” Practise accurate past and present passive forms and build complete sentences around location descriptions.

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