Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-19

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 plans illustates the alteration in in the design of college cafe and how it appear today.

Overall, college cafe has been signifcantly modernised, few things has been remoovd, while other has remained in its original position. The large number of seats, barbecue and realed to kitchen things has been introduced in new design of cafe.

Cafe before redesign, there were are sapce of table and chairs in middle of cafe. Thr staff dining rooms had in norther side, whereas beside northweast, it was huge kitchen along the serving area and all food & drink. There was also bin section on east corner and toilets were southeast side.

Cafe after being modernised, a lot of chairs hs been installed for outdoors seating and next to it barbecue section plannted, whilst staff dining rooms has been removed and divided into two bars named take away food and coffee. Ultimately, tables and chairs and toilets has been remained unchanged, whereas, serving food and drinks are converted in hot meals in kitchen section.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the main change as a modernisation and compare several features accurately: the staff dining rooms become takeaway and coffee areas, the serving counter changes to hot meals, and the toilets and central seating remain. You also mention the new outdoor seating and barbecue. However, the overview is partly unclear, and some important changes are omitted, especially the salad bar on the western wall and the replacement of the single bin with recycling bins. A few locations are imprecise, such as describing the bin as being in an “east corner.” To strengthen the response, give a clearer overview of the main internal and external changes, then report the key additions and retained features with precise locations.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and separate paragraphs for the café before and after redesign. This helps the reader follow the basic comparison, and linking words such as “whereas,” “whilst,” and “ultimately” show an attempt to connect ideas. However, progression within the paragraphs is sometimes difficult to follow, and some links are awkward or do not clearly express the relationship between features. For example, “beside northwest” and “next to it” leave the locations or referents uncertain. Organise each description in a consistent route around the plan, and use clear references such as “the former staff rooms” or “on the eastern wall” to make comparisons easier to track.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant vocabulary for describing plans, including “modernised,” “serving area,” “outdoors seating,” and “remained unchanged.” However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate, which sometimes makes the description hard to interpret. Phrases such as “realed to kitchen things,” “barbecue section plannted,” and “a lot of chairs hs been installed” are unclear or unsuitable for a formal report. Spelling errors, including “illustates,” “signifcantly,” and “remoovd,” are also noticeable. Build a bank of precise plan-description terms—such as “added,” “replaced,” “located,” and “adjacent to”—and check spelling and collocations before submitting.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt some complex comparisons, for example, “whereas staff dining rooms has been removed and divided into two bars,” and use time contrasts between the former and current layouts. However, sentence structures are limited, and errors occur frequently in verb forms, agreement, articles, and sentence construction. Examples include “college cafe has been,” “few things has been,” and “tables and chairs and toilets has been remained unchanged.” The opening also contains a faulty construction: “The plans illustates the alteration in in the design … and how it appear today.” Practise accurate present and past forms for describing plans, especially “has/have been replaced” and “remained,” and check subject–verb agreement in each sentence.

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